Camptothecin analogs and methods of preparation thereof

ABSTRACT

A method of administering a topoisomerase inhibiting agent to a mammal includes administering a pharmaceutically effective amount of a compound having the following formula or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof:

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/825,729, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/629,432, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/251,153, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/633,561, which is continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/921,102, which is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 08/436,799, which is a continuation-in-partapplication of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/085,190, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

GOVERNMENT INTERESTS

This invention was made with government support under grant #5 RO1GM33372 awarded by the National Institutes of Health. The government hascertain rights in this invention.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to novel compounds and methods ofpreparation thereof and, particularly, to silyl camptothecin derivativesor analogs and to methods of preparation of such silyl camptothecinanalogs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(20S)-Camptothecin (CPT, see below) and its derivatives are some of themost promising agents for the treatment of solid tumors by chemotherapy.See, for example, Wall, M. E. et al, J. Ethnopharmacol., 51, 239 (1996);Camptothecin: New Anticancer Agents; Potmesil, M. and Pinedo, H., Eds.;CRC, Boca Raton, Fla. (1995); Bonneterre, J., Bull. Canc., 82, 623(1995); Sinha, D. K., Drugs, 49, 11 (1995). This natural alkaloid wasfirst isolated in 1966 from the extract of a Chinese plant, Camptothecaaccuminata, by Wall. Wall, M. E. et al, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 88, 3888(1966). As depicted below, camptothecin has a fused ring systemgenerally comprising a pyrrolo[3,4-b]quinoline system (rings ABC) fusedto a 2-pyridone ring (ring D), which, in turn, is fused to a lactonering (ring E).

Camptothecin belongs to the family of topoisomerase I poisons. See, forexample, Froelich-Ammon, S. J. et al., J. Biol. Chem., 270, 21429(1995). Research to date strongly suggests that this molecule acts byinterfering with the unwinding of supercoiled DNA by the cellular enzymetopoisomerase I, an enzyme which is usually overexpressed in malignantcells. In the highly replicating cancer cells, this triggers a cascadeof events leading to apoptosis and programmed death. See Slichenmyer, W.J. et al., J. Natl. Cancer Inst., 85, 271 (1993). Recent advances at themolecular pharmacology level are reviewed in Pommier, Y. et al., Proc.Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 92, 8861 (1995).

Camptothecin's initial clinical trials were limited by its poorsolubility in physiologically compatible media. Moreover, early attemptsto form a water-soluble sodium salt of camptothecin by opening thelactone ring with sodium hydroxide resulted in a compound having a poorantitumor activity. It was later reported that the closed lactone-formis an absolute requisite for antitumor activity. See Wani, M. C. et al.,J. Med. Chem., 23, 554 (1980). More recently, structure-activity studieshave identified analogous compounds with better solubility and betterantitumor activity. For example, topotecan (TPT) and irinotecan (IRT)have recently been approved for sale in the United States, whileGI-147211C is in late stage clinical trials. These analogs are effectiveagainst a variety of refractory solid tumors such as malignant melanoma,stomach, breast, ovarian, lung and colorectal cancers, and seemparticularly promising for the treatment of slow-dividing cancer lines.See, for example, Kingsbury, W. D. et al., J. Med. Chem., 34, 98 (1991);Sawada, S. et al., Chem. Pharm. Bull., 39, 1446 (1991); Luzzio, M. J. etal., J. Med. Chem., 38, 395 (1995); Abigerges, D. et al., J. Clin.Oncol., 13, 210 (1995). Furthermore, synergistic or additive effectshave been observed in combination therapies with cisplatin, irradiation,or hyperthermia. See Fukuda, M. et al., Canc. Res., 56, 789 (1996);Goldwasser, F. et al., Clin. Canc. Res., 2, 687 (1996); Wang, D. S. etal., Biol. Pharm. Bull., 19, 354 (1996).

Although most research has focused on the development of water-solublederivatives of camptothecin, new formulations, such aslipid-complexation, liposomal encapsulation, and wet milling technologyhave recently been developed. Such formulations result in newtherapeutic opportunities for poorly water-soluble camptothecins. SeeDaoud, S. S. et al., Anti-Cancer Drugs, 6, 83 (1995);Merisko-Liversidge, E. et al., Pharm. Res., 13, 272 (1996); andPantazis, P., Leukemia Res., 19, 775 (1995). An attractive feature ofthese formulations is their impact on drug biodistribution. Sugarman andcoworkers have recently reported that while free camptothecin achievesthe greatest concentration in the pulmonary parenchyma, lipid-complexedcamptothecin has the highest concentration in the gastrointestinaltract. These results open new and interesting perspectives for thetreatment of colon cancer. See Sugarman, S. M. et al., Canc. Chemother.Pharmacol., 37, 531 (1996). Another interesting aspect of usinginsoluble camptothecin analogs is that they are usually more active thantheir water-soluble congeners and seem less likely to createdrug-induced resistance, probably because they are not substrates of thep-glycoprotein multi-drug transporter. See Pantazis, P., Clin. Canc.Res., 1, 1235 (1995).

In this context, new camptothecin analogs that combine good to excellentanti-tumor activities with different solubility and biodistributionprofiles could play a crucial role in the therapeutic arsenal for thetreatment of various types of cancers.

Given the proven beneficial biological activity of camptothecin andanalogs thereof, it is desirable to develop additional camptothecinanalogs and methods of preparation of camptothecin analogs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides generally a compound having the followingformula (I):

R¹ and R² are independently the same or different and are preferablyhydrogen, an alkyl group, an alkenyl group, an alkynyl group, an alkoxylgroup, an aryloxy group, an acyloxy group, a carbonyloxy group, acarbamoyloxy group, a halogen, a hydroxyl group, a nitro group, a cyanogroup, an azido group, a formyl group, a hydrazino group, an acyl group,an amino group, —SR^(c), wherein, R^(c) is hydrogen, an acyl group, analkyl group, or an aryl group, or R¹ and R² together form a group of theformula —O(CH₂)_(n)O— wherein n represents the integer 1 or 2.

R³ is preferably H, a halogen, a nitro group, an amino group, a hydroxylgroup, or a cyano group. R² and R³ can also together form a group of theformula —O(CH₂)_(n)O— wherein n represents the integer 1 or 2.

R⁴ is preferably H, F, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group, a C₂₋₃ alkenyl group, a C₂₋₃alkynyl group, or a C₁₋₃ alkoxyl group. R⁵ is preferably a C₁₋₁₀ alkylgroup. A preferred alkyl group is an ethyl group. Preferred substitutedalkyl groups for R⁵ include an allyl group, a propargyl and a benzylgroup.

R⁶, R⁷ and R⁸ preferably are independently (the same or different) aC₁₋₁₀ alkyl group, a C₂₋₁₀ alkenyl group, a C₂₋₁₀ alkynyl group, or anaryl group. A preferred substituted alkyl group for R⁶, R⁷ and R⁸ is a—(CH₂)_(N)R⁹ group, wherein N is an integer within the range of 1through 10 and R⁹ is a hydroxyl group, an alkoxyl group, an amino group,a halogen atom, a cyano group or a nitro group. Preferred amino groupsfor R⁹ include alkylamino groups and a dialkylamino groups.

The terms “alkyl”, “aryl” and other groups refer generally to bothunsubstituted and substituted groups unless specified to the contrary.Unless otherwise specified, alkyl groups are preferably C₁-C₁₅ (that is,having 1 to 15 carbon atoms) alkyl groups, and more preferably C₁-C₁₀alkyl groups, and can be branched or unbranched, acyclic or cyclic. Theabove definition of an alkyl group and other definitions apply also whenthe group is a substituent on another group (for example, an alkyl groupas a substituent of an alkylamino group or a dialkylamino group). Theterm “aryl” refers to phenyl or napthyl. As used herein, the terms“halogen” or “halo” refer to fluoro, chloro, bromo and iodo.

The term “alkoxyl” refers to —OR^(d), wherein R^(d) is an alkyl group.The term “aryloxy” refers to —OR^(e), wherein R^(e) is an aryl group.The term acyl refers to —OCR^(f). The term “alkenyl” refers to anunsaturated radical with preferably 2-15 carbon atoms, more preferablywith 3-10 carbon atoms (—C═CHR^(g)). The term “alkynyl” refers to anunsaturated radical preferably with 2-15 carbon atoms, more preferablywith 3-10 carbon atoms (—C≡CR^(h)).

The groups set forth above, can be substituted with a wide variety ofsubstituents to synthesize camptothecin analogs retaining activity. Forexample, alkyl groups may preferably be substituted with a group orgroups including, but not limited to, a benzyl group, a phenyl group, analkoxyl group, a hydroxyl group, an amino group (including, for example,free amino groups, alkylamino, dialkylamino groups and arylaminogroups), an alkenyl group, an alkynyl group and an acyloxy group. In thecase of amino groups (—NR^(a)R^(b)), R^(a) and R^(b) are preferablyindependently hydrogen, an acyl group, an alkyl group, or an aryl group.Acyl groups may preferably be substituted with (that is R^(f) is) analkyl group, a haloalkyl group (for example, a perfluoroalkyl group), analkoxyl group, an amino group and a hydroxyl group. Alkynyl groups andalkenyl groups may preferably be substituted with (that is, R^(g) andR^(h) are preferably) a group or groups including, but not limited to,an alkyl group, an alkoxyalkyl group, an amino alkyl group and a benzylgroup.

The term “acyloxy” as used herein refers to the group

The term “carbonyloxy” as used herein refers to the group

The term “carbamoyloxy” as used herein refers to the group

Amino and hydroxyl groups may include protective groups as known in theart. Preferred protective groups for amino groups includetert-butyloxycarbonyl, formyl, acetyl, benzyl,p-methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl, trityl. Other suitable protecting groups asknown to those skilled in the art are disclosed in Greene, T., Wuts, P.G. M., Protective Groups in Organic Synthesis, Wiley (1991), thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

In general, R¹, R², R³, R⁶, R⁷ and R⁸ are preferably not excessivelybulky to maintain activity of the resultant camptothecin analog.Preferably, therefore, R¹, R², R³, R⁶, R⁷ and R⁸ independently have amolecular weight less than approximately 250. More preferably R¹, R²,R³, R⁶, R⁷ and R⁸ independently have a molecular weight less thanapproximately 200.

Some of the camptothecin analogs of the present invention can beprepared for pharmaceutical use as salts with inorganic acids such as,but not limited to, hydrochloride, hydrobromide, sulfate, phosphate, andnitrate. The camptothecin analogs can also be prepared as salts withorganic acids such as, but not limited to, acetate, tartrate, fumarate,succinate, citrate, methanesulfonate, p-toluenesulfonate, and stearate.Other acids can be used as intermediates in the preparation of thecompounds of the present invention and their pharmaceutically acceptablesalts.

For purification purposes, the E-ring (the lactone ring) may be openedwith alkali metal such as, but not limited to, sodium hydroxide orcalcium hydroxide, to form opened E-ring analogs of compounds of formula(I). The intermediates thus obtained are more soluble in water and maybe purified to produce, after treatment with an acid, a purified form ofthe camptothecin analogs of the present invention.

The E-ring may also be modified to produce analogs of compounds offormula (I) with different solubility profiles in water or othersolvents. Methods to achieve this goal include, but are not limited to,opening the E-ring with an water-soluble amino group or functionalyzingthe hydroxyl group at position 20 of the E-ring with a water-solublegroup such as a polyethylene glycol group. The analogs thus prepared actas pro-drugs. In other words, these analogs regenerate the compounds offormula (I) (with the closed E-ring structure) when administered to aliving organism. See, Greenwald, R. B. et al., J. Med. Chem., 39, 1938(1996).

The present invention also provides a method of treating a patient,which comprises administering a pharmaceutically effective amount of acompound of formula (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.The compound may, for example, be administered to a patient afflictedwith cancer and/or leukemia by any conventional route of administration,including, but not limited to, intravenously, intramuscularly, orally,subcutaneously, intratumorally, intradermally, and parenterally. Thepharmaceutically effective amount or dosage is preferably between 0.01to 60 mg of the compound of formula (I) per kg of body weight. Morepreferably, the pharmaceutically effective amount or dosage ispreferably between 0.1 to 40 mg of the compound of formula (I) per kg ofbody weight. In general, a pharmaceutically effective amount or dosagecontains an amount of a compound of formula (I) effective to diaplayantileukemic and/or antitumor (anticancer) behavior. Pharmaceuticalcompositions containing as an active ingredient a compound of formula(I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof in association with apharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent are also within the scopeof the present invention.

The present invention also provides a pharmaceutical compositioncomprising any of the compounds of formula (I) and a pharmaceuticallyacceptable carrier. The composition may contain between 0.1 mg and 500mg of the compound of formula (I), and may be constituted into any formsuitable for the mode of administration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a general synthetic scheme for thepreparation of compounds of formula 1.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a synthesis of(20S)-11-fluoro-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a synthesis of(20S)-10-acetoxy-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin and(20S)-10-hydroxy-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a synthesis of(20S)-10-amino-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a synthesis of(20S)-10-amino-11-fluoro-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a synthesis of a novel analog ofirinotecan.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Compounds

Among the compounds of formula (I), those having the (S)-configurationat position 20 of the E-ring are preferred for pharmaceutical use.

R¹ and R² are preferably and independently (the same or different) H, ahydroxyl group, a halo group, an amino group, a nitro group, a cyanogroup, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group, a C₁₋₃ perhaloalkyl group, a C₁₋₃ alkenylgroup, a C₁₋₃ alkynyl group, a C₁₋₃ alkoxyl group, a C₁₋₃ aminoalkylgroup, a C_(1-3′) alkylamino group, a C₁₋₃ dialkylamino group, or R¹ andR² together form a group of the formula —O(CH₂)_(n)O—wherein nrepresents the integer 1 or 2. More preferably, R¹ and R² areindependently (the same or different) H, a methyl group, an amino group,a nitro group, a cyano group, a hydroxyl group, a hydroxymethyl group, amethylamino group, a dimethylamino group, an ethylamino group, adiethylamino group, an aminomethyl group, a methylaminomethyl group, adimethylaminomethyl group, and the like.

R³ is preferably F, an amino group, or a hydroxyl group. R⁴ ispreferably H or F. R⁵ is preferably an ethyl group. R⁶, R⁷ and R⁸ arepreferably independently (the same or different) a C₁₋₆ alkyl group, aphenyl group or a —(CH₂)_(N)R¹⁰ group, wherein N is an integer withinthe range of 1 through 6 and R¹⁰ is a halogen or a cyano group.

Method of Preparation

The compounds of the present invention can be prepared according to thegeneral synthetic scheme shown in FIG. 1. In the synthetic scheme ofFIG. 1, an iodopyridone 2 is first N-alkylated with a propargylderivative 3 to produce radical precursor 4. Radical precursor 4 thenundergoes a radical cascade with arylisonitrile 5 to generate product 1.The N-alkylation proceeds smoothly following optimized conditions. SeeCurran, D. P. et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 36, 8917 (1995), the disclosureof which is incorporated herein by reference. The synthesis ofiodopyridone 2 and the conditions of the radical cascade have beenpreviously reported. The propargylating agent 3 is readily prepared bythe standard silylation of the dianion of propargyl alcohol with asuitable sylating agent R⁶R⁷R⁸SiX followed by conversion of thepropargyl alcohol to a leaving group such as a bromide, iodide orsulfonate. See Curran, D. P. et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 34,2683 (1995), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08,436,799, filed May 8,1995, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Generally, various reagents can be used in the radical cascadeincluding, but not limited to, hexamethyltin, hexamethyldisilane, ortetrakis(trimethylsilyl)silane. The source of energy for this reactioncan be a sun lamp or an ultraviolet lamp. The temperature is preferablyset between approximately 25 and 150° C. More preferably, thetemperature is set at approximately 70° C. There are generally nolimitations upon the choice of solvent used other than inertness to theradical cascade. Preferred solvents include benzene, toluene,acetonitrile, THF and tert-butanol. Also, there is very broad latitudein the choice of substituents on the alkyne and the isonitrile becauseof the mildness of the reaction conditions.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a general synthetic scheme for thesynthesis of (20S)-11-fluoro-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin 12. A problemin this synthetic scheme is to control the regioselectivity of theradical cascade when both ortho positions in the arylisonitrile areavailable for cyclization (that is, R⁴ is H in the final compound offormula I). One solution to this problem relies upon the introduction ofa trimethylsilyl group on the aryl isonitrile, (e.g.3-fluoro-2-trimethylsilylphenyl isonitrile 9). The trimethylsilylsubstituent blocks one of the ortho sites of the isonitrile towardcyclization and can be removed after the cascade reaction byhydrodesilylation. In this example, the selectivity proceeds further inthe sense that only one of the trimethylsilyl groups is removed in thelast step.

Other embodiments of the general synthetic scheme for the preparation ofseveral novel camptothecin derivatives are illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 6,and in the Examples.

The present invention provides a short and efficient synthetic schemewell suited to known structure-activity relationships in thecamptothecin family. Indeed, the biological activity of the camptothecinskeleton is generally intolerant or has very little tolerance tosubstituents other than at the 7 and/or 9-11 positions. Followingsynthesis, these substituents are introduced via the alkynylderivative 3and arylisonitrile 5, respectively.

Antitumor Activities

The antitumor activities of several compounds of formula I are shown inTable 1 and compared to those of several well known camptothecinanalogs. The syntheses of the various exemplary compounds of the presentinvention set forth in Table 1 are discussed in further detail in anExample section following this section.

TABLE 1 Biological Activities of (20S)-7-Silyl-Camptothecin Derivatives.

     Inhibition of cancercell growthIC₅₀ (nM)      Enhancement ofTopoIMediated DNA     Inhibitionof Topo ImediatedDNA Example 7^(a) 9 10 1112 HL-60 833K DC3F Cleavage relaxation CPT H H H H H 5 10 6-9 +++ +++IRT Et H OPP^(a) H H 270 487 372 − −  1 TMS H H H H 3.8 5.6 4.2 ++++ +++ 2 TBDMS H H H H 0.12 1.2 2.9 ++++ +++  3 TBDPS H H H H 339 243 663 ++ + 4 TMS H OAc H H 2.7 6.7 ++++ +++++  5 TMS H OH H H 2.6 7.0 6.9 +++++++++  5a Example 5 with opened E ring 9.7 15.0 14.2 +++ +  6 TMS HOPP^(a) H H 66 214 256 − −  7 TMS H H F H 0.75 0.92 2.0 ++++ +++++  7aTMS F H H H 3.0 2.9 8.2 ++++ ++++ TMS H H F H (2:1)  8 TMS H NH₂ H H0.52 5.7 0.72 − −  9 TMS H H NH₂ H 2.6 7.4 6.4 − − 10 TMS H NH₂ F H 0.070.14 0.29 ++++ ++++ 11 TMS H H F F 1.01 2.1 2.5 +++ +++ TMS F F H H(3/1) 12 TIPS H H H H 1506 10730 1038 − − 13 TES H H H H 31.9 122 57.1 −− 14 DMNPS H H H H 66.9 197 64.1 − − 15 DMCPS H H H H 0.91 2.7 2.7 − −16 DMHPS H H H H 2.1 5.4 2.3 − − 17 TBDMS H OAc H H 1.86 — 3.57 − − 18TBDMS H OH H H 2.60 — 5.20 − − ^(a)OPP = irinotecan's pyrrolidinylpyrrolidine carbamate; TMS = trimethylsilyl; TBDMS =t-butyldimethylsilyl; TBDPS = t-butyldiphenyl silyl; TES =triethylsilyl; TIPS = triisopropylsilyl; DMNPS = dimethylynorpinylsilyl;DMCPS = dimethyl-3-cyanopropylsilyl; DMHPS = dimethyl-3-halopropylsilyl;b) More active than CPT in S-180 in BD₂F₁ mice testing. c) More activethan CPT in Lewis lung Carcinoma in BD₂F₁ mice.

As illustrated in Table 1, the compounds of the present inventionexhibit good to excellent antitumor activity as compared to camptothecin(CPT) and irinotecan (IRT).

Cytotoxicity Assays

The camptothecin derivatives were evaluated for their cytotoxic effectson the growth of HL-60 (human promyelocytic leukemic), 833K (humanteratocarcinoma) and DC-3F (hamster lung) cells in vitro. The cells werecultured in an initial density of 5×10⁻⁴ cell/ml. They were maintainedin a 5% CO₂ humidified atmosphere at 37° C. in RPMI-1640 media(GIBCO-BRL Grand Island, N.Y.) containing penicillin 100u/ml)/streptomycin (100 μg/ml) (GIBCO-BRL) and 10% heat inactivatedfetal bovine serum. The assay was performed in duplicate in 96-wellmicroplates. The cytotoxicity of the compounds toward HL-60 cellsfollowing 72 hr incubation was determined by XTT-microculturetetrazolium assay. Scudiero, D. A., et al., Cancer Res., 48, 4827(1988), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.2′,3′-bis(-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfheny)-5-[(phenylamino)carbonyl]-2H-tetrazoliumhydroxide (XTT) was prepared at 1 mg/ml in prewarmed (37° C.) mediumwithout serum. Phenazine methosulfate (PMS) and fresh XTT were mixedtogether to obtain 0.075 mM PMS-XTT solution (25 μl of the stock 5 mMPMS was added per 5 ml of 1 mg/ml XTT). Fifty μl of this mixture wasadded to each well of the cell culture at the end of 72 hr incubation.After incubation at 37° C. for 4 hr., absorbance at 450 nm and 630 nmwas measured with a microplate reader (EL340, Bio-Tek Instruments, Inc.,Winooski, Vt.).

The cytotoxicity of the camptothecin compounds toward 833Kteratocarcinoma solid tumor cells and DC-3F hamster lung cells wasdetermined in 96-well microplates by a method described by Skehan et al.for measuring cellular protein content. Skehan et al., “New ColorometricCytotoxicity Assay for Anticancer Drug Screening,” J. Nat'l CancerInst., 82, 1107 (1990), the disclosure of which is incorporated hereinby reference. Cultures were fixed with trichloroacetic acid and thenstained for 30 minutes with 0.4% sulforhodamine B dissolved in 1% aceticacid. Unbound dye was removed by acetic acid washes, and theprotein-bound dye was extracted with an unbuffered Tris base[tris(hydroxy-methyl)aminomethan] for determination of absorbance at 570nm in a 96-well microplate reader. The experiments were carried out induplicate using five to six concentrations of the drugs tested. Datawere analyzed via computer software. See, Chou, J, and Chou, T. C.,Dose-Effect Analysis With Microcomputers: Quantitation of ED ₅₀ , LD ₅₀, Synergism, Antagonism, Low-Dose Risk, Receptor-Ligand Binding andEnzyme Kinetics, 2^(nd) ed., Biosoft, Cambridge (1987); and Chou, T. C.,“The Median-Effect Principle and the Combination Index for Quantitationof Synergism and Antagonism,” Synergism and Antagonism in Chemotherapy,Academic Press, San Diego, 61-102 (1991), the disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference.

Topo I Mediated DNA Cleavage Assay

For DNA cleavage assay the reaction mixture comprised Tris-HCl buffer 10mM, pH7.5; PBR₃₂₂ supercoiled double stranded circular DNA (4363 basepairs, from Bochringer Mannheim Biochemicals) 0.125 μg/ml, drug(camptothecin or its derivatives) concentration at 1, 10 and 100 μM, inthe presence of purified DNA topoisomerase I with final volume of 20 μlas described previously. Hsiang, Y. H., et al., “Camptothecin InducesProtein-Linked DNA Breaks Via Mammalian DNA Topoisomerase I,” J. Biol.Chem., 260, 14873 (1985), the disclosure of which is incorporated hereinby reference. Incubation was carried out at 37° C. for 60 min. Thereaction was stopped by adding the loading buffer dye (2% sodium dodesylsulfate, 0.05% bromophenol blue and 6% glycerol). Electrophoresis wascarried-cut on 1% agarose gel plus ethidium bromide (1 μg/ml) in TBEbuffer (Tris-base-boric acid-EDTA) and ran at 25 V for 18 hrs.Photographs were taken under UV light using Polaroid film type 55/N anddeveloped as indicated by the manufacturer.

Inhibition of Topo I Mediated Relaxation of Supercoiled DNA

To study the inhibiting effect on DNA topoisomerase I mediatedrelaxation of DNA, the method described by Liu and Miller was used. Liu,H. F. et al., “Cleavage of DNA by Mammalian DNA Topoisomerase II,” J.Biol. Chem., 258, 15365 (1980), the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference. For this assay, 0.18 μg of PBR₃₂₂ DNA, 0.5 U ofTopo I (GIBCO-BRL), various concentrations (1-100 μM of camptothecin oran analog, in a reaction mixture (20 μl) containing 50 mM Tris-HCl, pH7.5, 120 mM KCl, 10 mM MgCl₂, 0.5 mM DTT, 0.5 mM EDTA, 30 μg/ml BSA, 20μg/ml PBR₃₂₂ DNA and various amounts of the enzyme was incubated at 37°C. for 30 min., and stopped with 5% SBS and 150 μg/ml proteinase K. Thesamples were loaded onto 1% agarose in TAE running buffer,electrophoresed overnight at 39 V, stained with EtBr, and photographedunder UV light.

Antitumor Activity in vivo

Antitumor activities of camptothecin derivatives were tested in B₆D₂F₁mice bearing sarcoma-180 or Lewis lung murine solid tumor. For S-180,3×10⁶ cells were innoculated subcutaneously on day 3. Antitumortreatment started on day 1 intraperitoneously twice daily for five days.Tumor volumes on day 7 and day 14 were measured. Average tumor volumeswere described as the ratio of treated versus untreated control (T/C).The control (treated with DMSO vehicle only) tumor volumes for day 7 andday 14 were 0.11 cm³ and 0.61 cm³, respectively. The T/C camptothecin isdesignated with “+++.” An increment or decrement of 10% as compared tothe camptothecin T/C on day 14 at 2 mg/kg dosage is designated withincrease or decrease of one “+” unit, respectively.

For Lewis lung carcinoma, tumor cells (1×10⁶) were inoculatedsubcutaneously on day 0 and treatment started on day 1,intraperitoneously twice daily for five days. The grading of effects wasas described above.

As shown Table 1, many of the camptothecin derivatives tested for theantitumor cytotoxicity in vitro exhibited higher potency thancamptothecin in one to three cell lines. Most of those compoundsexhibiting higher antitumor cytotoxicity also exhibited higher potencyin enhancing the DNA-topoisomerase I-mediated cleavage of PBR₃₂₂ DNA, orin inhibiting the DNA-topoisomerase I-mediated relaxation of PBR₃₂₂ DNA.These results suggest excellent correlation between the antitumorcytoxicity of the camptothecin compounds with their ability to inhibitthe functions of DNA-topoisomerase I.

For in vivo chemotherapeutic effects in tumor-bearing mice, for example,7-trimethylsilyl camptothecin showed better activity than camptothecinagainst sarcoma 180 in B₆D₂F₁ mice at several equivalent doses in a dosedependent manner in terms of tumor volume reduction. Similarly, forLewis lung carcinoma, 7-trimethylsilyl-11-fluoro camptothecin exhibiteda similar antitumor effect to camptothecin in terms of tumor volumereduction at 4-fold lower doses than camptothecin. Thus,7-trimethylsilyl-11-fluoro camptothecin is more efficacious thancamptothecin in its antitumor effects in vivo.

The present inventors have thus discovered that introduction of a silylgroup (for example, a trimethylsilyl group) at position 7 of thecamptothecin structure typically results in a compound with betteranti-tumor activity than camptothecin (see, for example, the compound ofExample 1 as compared to (20S)-CPT). The silyl group is also beneficialin the irinotecan series (see, for example, the compound of Example 6 ascompared to irinotecan).

The anti-tumor activity remains essentially unchanged when a hydroxygroup is introduced at position 10 of the compound of Example 1 toproduce the compound of Example 5. The compound of Example 6 is arelative of SN-38, the active metabolite of irinotecan. Some of thehighest activities were observed in the present studies when atrimethylsilyl group was introduced in conjunction with a fluoro atom atposition 11 (see, for example, the compound of Example 7), or a primaryamine group at positions 10 or 11 (see, respectively, Examples 8 and 9).Introduction of a fluoro atom in position 12 also results in an analogonly approximately 2 times less potent than camptothecin (see, Example11 as compared to (20S)-CPT). This result is surprising considering thepoor activity of the 12-substituted camptothecins reported previously inthe literature.

A mammal (human or animal) may thus be treated by a method whichcomprises the administration to the mammal of a pharmaceuticallyeffective amount of a compound of formula (I) or a pharmaceuticallyacceptable salt thereof. The condition of the mammal can thereby beimproved.

The compounds of the present invention can be administered in a varietyof dosage forms including, for example: parenterally (for example,intravenously, intradermally, intramuscularly or subcutaneously); orally(for example, in the form of tablets, lozengers, capsules, suspensionsor liquid solutions); rectally or vaginally, in the form of asuppository; or topically (for example, as a paste, cream, gel orlotion).

Optimal dosages to be administered may be determined by those skilled inthe art and will vary with the particular compound of formula (I) to beused, the strength of the preparation, the mode of administration, thetime and frequency of administration, and the advancement of thepatient's condition. Additional factors depending on the particularpatient will result in the need to adjust dosages. Such factors includepatient age, weight, gender and diet. Dosages may be administered atonce or divided into a number of smaller doses administered at varyingintervals of time.

EXAMPLES

The following examples are provided for illustration of the inventionand are not intended to be limiting thereof.

Example 1 Preparation of (20S)-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin

(1)(S)-4-Ethyl-4-hydroxy-6-iodo-3-oxo-7-(3-trimethylsilyl-2-propynyl)-1H-pyrano[3,4-c]-8-pyridone

To a solution of(S)-4-ethyl-4-hydroxy-6-iodo-3-oxo-1H-pyrano[3,4-c]-8-pyridone[iodopyridone (2), 250 mg, 0.746 mmol] in DME (2.5 mL) and DMF (0.60 mL)at 0° C. under argon was added 60% NaH in mineral oil (31.3 mg, 0.783mmol). LiBr (150 mg, 1.75 mmol) was added 10 min latter. After 15 min atroom temperature, 3-trimethylsilyl-2-propynyl bromide (430 mg, 2.24mmol) was injected and the reaction mixture was heated in the dark at65° C. for 20 h. The final solution was poured into brine (20 mL),extracted with AcOEt (6×15 mL) and dried (Na₂SO₄). The residue obtainedafter removal of the solvents was subjected to flash-chromatography(CHCl₃/AcOEt 95:5) to give 283 mg (85%) of a foam: [α]²⁰ _(D) +36.7 (c1, CHCl₃); IR (neat, cm⁻¹) 3384, 2940, 2166, 1730, 1634, 1518, 1406,1130, 841, 752; ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.14 (s, 9H), 0.95 (t, J=7.4Hz, 3H), 1.77 (m, 2H), 3.66 (s, 1H), 5.00 (d, J=17.2 Hz, 1H), 5.10 (d,J=16.4 Hz, 1H), 5.15 (d, J=17.2 Hz, 1H), 5.49 (d, J=16.4 Hz, 1H), 7.16(s, 1H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ−0.40, 7.7, 31.5, 44.5, 66.3, 71.8,90.9, 97.9, 116.5, 118.1, 148.6, 157.9, 173.3; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd forC₁₆H₂₀INO₄Si (M⁺) 445.0206, found 445.0203; LRMS (EI) m/z 445 (M⁺), 430,416, 386.

(2) (20S)-7-Trimethylsilylcamptothecin

A solution of the compound prepared in (1) (36.6 mg, 0.082 mmol), phenylisonitrile (0.25 mmol) and hexamethylditin (42 mg, 0.123 mmol) inbenzene (1.3 mL) under argon was irradiated at 70° C. with a 275 W GEsunlamp for 10 h. The final reaction mixture was concentrated andsubjected to flash-chromatography (CHCl₃/MeOH 96:4) to provide 18.8 mg(54%) of a slightly yellow solid: [α]²⁰ _(D)+39.0 (c 0.2, CHCl₃/MeOH4:1); ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃/CD₃OD 3:1) 80.50 (s, 9H), 0.83 (t, J=7.4Hz, 3H), 1.74 (m, 2H), 3.72 (br s, 1H), 5.12 (d, J=16.4 Hz, 1H), 5.16(br s, 2H), 5.47 (d, J=16.4 Hz, 1H), 7.49 (t, J=8.1 Hz, 1H), 7.54 (s,1H), 7.62 (t, J=8.1 Hz, 1H), 8.02 (d, J=8.1 Hz, 1H), 8.07 (d, J=8.1 Hz,1H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃/CD₃OD 3:1) δ 0.9, 7.2, 29.3, 31.0, 51.7,65.5, 98.3, 118.4, 127.3, 128.0, 129.7, 130.0, 131.8, 134.3, 144.7,145.6, 147.3, 151.1, 173.5; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₂₃H₂₄N₂O₄Si (M⁺)420.1505, found 420.1501; LRMS (EI) m/z 420 (M⁺), 391, 376, 361, 347,320, 291.

Example 2 Preparation of (20S)-7-tert-butyldimethylsilylcamptothecin

(1)(S)-4-Ethyl-4-hydroxy-6-iodo-3-oxo-7-(3-tert-butyldimethylsilyl-2-propynyl)-1H-pyrano[3,4-c]-8-pyridone

Following the procedure described in Example 1-(1), iodopyridone (2)(200 mg, 0.60 mmol) and 3-tert-butyldimethylsilyl-2-propynyl bromide(280 mg, 1.20 mmol) provided, after flash-chromatography (CH₂Cl₂/AcOEt9:1), 173 mg (59%) of a white foam: [α]²⁰ _(D) +58 (c 0.2, CHCl₃); IR(CHCl₃, cm⁻¹) 3548, 2950, 2927, 2859, 1745, 1648, 1526; ¹H NMR (300 MHz,CDCl₃) δ 0.08 (s, 6H), 0.92 (m, 12H), 1.79 (m, 2H), 3.77 (br s, 1H),5.00-5.25 (m, 3H), 5.50 (d, J=16.4 Hz, 1H) 7.19 (s, 1H); ¹³C NMR (75MHz, CDCl₃) δ−4.9, 7.63, 16.6, 26.0, 31.6, 44.5, 66.3, 71.8, 89.4, 98.6,100.0, 116.5, 118.1, 148.6, 158.0, 173.2; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd forC₁₉H₂₆INO₄Si (M⁺) 487.0679, found 487.0676; LRMS (EI) m/z 487 (M⁺), 430,386, 96, 81, 57.

(2) (20S)-7-tert-butyldimethylsilylcamptothecin

Following the procedure described in Example 1-(2), the compoundprepared in (1) (48.7 mg, 0.10 mmol) afforded, afterflash-chromatographies (CH₂Cl₂/MeOH 96:4; CH₂Cl₂/acetone 9:1), 24.8 mg(54%) of an off yellow solid: [α]²⁰ _(D) +35.5 (c 0.2, CHCl₃); IR(CHCl₃, cm⁻¹) 3028, 2980, 2960, 2932, 2859, 1741, 1658, 1600, 1555,1257, 1198, 1158, 1045; ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.69 (s, 6H), 0.98 (s,9H), 1.03 (t, J=7.3 Hz, 3H), 1.86 (m, 2H), 3.86 (s, 1H), 5.29 (d, J=16.3Hz, 1H), 5.31 (s, 2H), 5.73 (d, J=16.3 Hz, 1H), 7.60 (t, J=6.3 Hz, 1H),7.60 (t, J=7.0 Hz, 1H), 7.66 (s, 1H), 7.74 (t, J=7.3 Hz, 1H) 8.20 (t,J=8.1 Hz, 2H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ−0.56, 7.80, 19.2, 27.1, 31.6,52.4, 66.3, 72.8, 97.7, 118.2, 127.0, 129.5, 129.6, 130.8, 132.7, 136.0,143.0, 146.4, 148.0, 150.1, 150.6, 157.4, 173.9; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd forC₂₆H₃₀N₂O₄Si (M⁺) 462.1974, found 462.1975; LRMS (EI) m/z 462 (M⁺), 450,361, 331, 304, 245, 223, 57.

Example 3 Preparation of (20S)-7-tert-butyldiphenylsilylcamptothecin

(1)(S)-4-Ethyl-4-hydroxy-6-iodo-3-oxo-7-(3-tert-butyldiphenylsilyl-2-propynyl)-1H-pyrano[3,4-c]-8-pyridone

Following the procedure described in Example 1-(1), iodopyridone (2)(200 mg, 0.60 mmol) and 3-tert-butyldiphenylsilyl-2-propynyl bromide(428 mg, 1.20 mmol) provided, after flash-chromatography (CH₂Cl₂/AcOEt9:1), 258 mg (70%) of a white foam: [α]²⁰ _(D) +45.1 (c 0.2, CHCl₃); IR(CHCl₃, cm⁻¹) 3546, 2928, 2855, 1741, 1658, 1526; ¹H NMR (300 MHz,CDCl₃) δ0.97 (t, J=7.3 Hz, 3H), 1.08 (s, 9H), 1.80 (m, J=7.1 Hz, 2H),3.76 (br s, 1H), 5.13 (d, J=16.4 Hz, 1H), 5.29 (d, J=2.5 Hz, 2H), 5.52(d, J=16.4 Hz, 1H), 7.22 (s, 1H), 7.32-7.40 (m, 6H), 7.76-7.78 (m, 4H);¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ7.6, 18.6, 27.0, 31.6, 44.6, 60.4, 66.3, 71.8,86.5, 99.9, 102.2, 116.6, 127.7, 129.6, 132.6, 135.6, 148.7, 157.8,173.2; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₂₅H₂₁INO₄Si (M-C₄H₉ ⁺) 554.0279, found554.0285; LRMS (EI) m/z 554 (M-C₄H₉ ⁺), 587, 510, 220, 143, 105.

(2) (20S)-7-tert-butyldiphenylsilylcamptothecin

Following the procedure described in Example 1-(2), the compoundprepared in (1) (61.1 mg, 0.10 mmol) yielded, afterflash-chromatographies (CH₂Cl₂/MeOH 96:4; CH₂Cl₂/acetone 9:1), 26.5 mg(45%) of a light yellow solid: [α]²⁰ _(D) +35.2 (c 0.2, CHCl₃); IR(CHCl₃, cm⁻¹) 3003, 2984, 2969, 2958, 2935, 1741, 1658, 1599, 1555,1428, 1226, 1216, 1158, 1102; ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 1.00 (t, J=7.3Hz, 3H), 1.44 (s, 9H), 1.84 (m, 2H), 3.75 (s, 1H), 4.21 (d, J=5.7 Hz,2H), 5.19 (d, J=16.3 Hz, 1H), 5.64 (d, J=16.3 Hz, 1H), 7.43 (m, 5H),7.51 (t, J=7.3 Hz, 2H), 7.62 (s, 1H), 7.69 (m, 5H), 8.10 (d, J=8.5 Hz,1H), 8.22 (d, J=8.2 Hz, 1H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 7.9, 20.4, 30.2,31.6, 52.2, 66.4, 72.8, 97.5, 118.2, 126.3, 128.6, 129.8, 130.3, 130.7,131.9, 132.2, 134.6, 134.64, 136.4, 136.5, 138.1, 140.9, 146.2, 148.4,149.9, 151.3, 157.1, 174.1; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₃₆H₃₄N₂O₄Si (M⁺)586.2281, found 586.2288; LRMS (EI) m/z 586 (M⁺), 542, 529, 485, 428,407, 321, 181, 131, 69.

Example 4 Preparation of (20S)-10-acetoxy-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin(see FIG. 3)

(1) 4-Acetoxyphenyl isonitrile (14)

To a solution of 4-acetoxyformanilide (13) (358 mg, 1.0 mmol) in CH₂Cl₂(10 mL) at 0° C. were successively added tetrabromomethane (0.70 g, 2.1mmol), triphenylphosphine (525 mg, 2.1 mmol), and triethylamine (320 mL,2.1 mmol), and the resulting mixture was refluxed in the dark for 3 h.After evaporation of the solvents, the crude was triturated inice-cooled Et₂O (20 mL) and filtered. The solvent was evaporated and theresidue was purified by flash-chromatography (hexanes/AcOEt 8:2) toafford 243 mg (76%) of a slightly brown solid: IR (neat, cm⁻¹) 2127,1768, 1501, 1370, 1201, 1180, 909; ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ2.29 (s,3H), 7.11 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.38 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz,CDCl₃) δ 21.0, 122.8, 127.6, 150.8, 164.3, 168.8; HRMS (EI) m/z calcdfor C₉H₇NO₂ (M⁺) 161.0477, found 161.0474; LRMS (EI) m/z 161 (M⁺), 133,119, 91.

(2) (20S)-10-Acetoxy-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin (15)

Following the procedure described in Example 1-(2), the compoundprepared in Example 1-(1) (44.5 mg, 0.10 mmol) and the compound preparedin (1) (48.3 mg, 0.30 mmol) provided, after flash-chromatography(CHCl₃/acetone 10:1), 29.9 mg (63%) of a slightly yellow oil: [α]² _(D)+29.9 (c 0.5, CHCl₃); ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ0.61 (s, 9H), 0.98 (t,J=7.4 Hz, 3H), 1.86 (m, 2H), 2.38 (s, 3H), 4.13 (br s, 1H), 5.24 (d,J=16.4 Hz, 1H), 5.27 (s, 2H), 5.68 (d, J=16.4 Hz, 1H), 7.46 (dd, J=9.2,2.5 Hz, 1H), 7.60 (s, 1H), 7.96 (d, J=2.5 Hz, 1H), 8.13 (d, J=9.2 Hz,1H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ1.4, 7.8, 21.4, 31.5, 51.7, 66.2, 97.6,118.3, 118.9, 124.6, 132.1, 135.0, 145.7, 146.1, 148.9, 150.1, 150.7,157.3, 169.1, 173.7; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₂₅H₂₆N₂O₆Si (M⁺) 478.1560,found 478.1582; LRMS (EI) m/z 478 (M⁺), 436, 392, 377, 336, 277.

Example 5 Preparation of (20S)-10-hydroxy-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin(16)

A solution of the compound (15) prepared in Example 5-(2) (16.8 mg,0.035 mmol) and K₂CO₃ (9.6 mg, 0.070 mmol) in MeOH (100 mL) and H₂O (100mL) was stirred 1 h 30 at room temperature. The reaction mixture wasacidified with AcOH (2 drops), diluted with brine (10 mL) and extractedwith AcOEt (10×10 mL). The combined organic layers were dried (Na₂SO₄)and evaporated, and the residue was purified by flash-chromatographies(CHCl₃/MeOH/AcOH 90:10:2; CHCl₃/acetone 2:1) to give 15.1 mg (99%) of awhite solid: [α]²⁰ _(D) +18.9 (c 0.2, CHCl₃/MeOH 4:1); ¹H NMR (300 MHz,CDCl₃/CD₃OD 4:1) δ0.45 (s, 9H), 0.84 (t, J=7.3 Hz, 3H), 1.75 (m, 2H),5.12 (br s, 2H), 5.12 (d, J=16.3 Hz, 1H), 5.48 (d, J=16.3 Hz, 1H), 7.24(dd, J=9.1, 2.5 Hz, 1H), 7.39 (d, J=2.5 Hz, 1H), 7.87 (d, J=9.1 Hz, 1H);

¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃/CD₃OD 4:1) δ 0.8, 7.4, 31.1, 51.8, 65.7, 97.5,109.8, 117.5, 122.3, 131.3, 133.7, 134.6, 141.7, 142.6, 146.3, 147.5,151.1, 156.3, 157.6; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₂₃H₂₄N₂O₅Si (M⁺) 436.1454,found 436.1450; LRMS (EI) m/z 436 (M⁺), 392, 377, 336, 323.

Reaction of this compound with NH₂CH₂CH₂NMe₂ followed by EtCOCl providedthe open E-ring analog for biological testing.

Example 6 Preparation of (20S)7-trimethylsilyl-irinotecan (see FIG. 6)

(1) [1,4′] Bipiperidinyl-1′-carboxylic acid 4-nitro-phenylester (32)

To a solution of 4-nitrophenyl chloroformate (31) (5.15 g, 25.6 mmol) in150 mL of dry THF at −78° C. was added triethylamine (10.7 mL, 76.2mmol), followed by a solution of 4-piperidinopiperidine (30) (4.51 g,25.6 mmol) in 40 mL of THF. This solution was stirred for two hours,after which the solvent was removed, and the residue was taken up inAcOEt, filtered and evaporated. The crude yellow solid was passedthrough a pad of neutral alumina using AcOEt as an eluent to yield,after evaporation, 6.73 g (79%) of a white solid: IR (CHCl₃, cm⁻¹) 3046,2937, 2859, 1704, 1620, 1513, 1466, 1242, 1197; ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃)δ1.20-1.80 (m, 8H), 1.90 (d, J=12.7 Hz, 2H), 2.20-2.70 (m, 5H), 2.87 (t,J=12 Hz, 1H), 3.01 (t, J=12 Hz, 1H), 4.30 (br s, 2H), 7.29 (d, J=9 Hz,2H), 8.26 (d, J=9 Hz, 2H);

¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 24.6, 26.3, 27.5, 28.2, 40.1, 44.4, 50.1,62.0, 122.2, 124.9, 144.8, 151.9, 156.3; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd forC₁₇H₂₃N₃O₄ (M⁺) 333.1676, found 333.1688; LRMS (EI) m/z 333 (M⁺), 195,167, 124, 110, 96, 55.

(2) [1,4′] Bipiperidinyl-1′-carboxylic acid 4-amino-phenylester

To a solution of the compound prepared in (1) (1.012 g, 3.03 mmol) inAcOEt (125 ml) was added 10% Pd/C (0.15 g). The system was purgedseveral times with argon, and a 1 L balloon of H₂ was added. Afterstirring the resulting mixture at room temperature for 12 hours, thecatalyst was removed by filtration through celite and the solvent wasevaporated to give 835 mg (91%) of a white solid: IR (CHCl₃, cm⁻¹) 3453,3400, 3028, 2936, 2859, 1703, 1513, 1429, 1242, 1226, 1210, 1197; ¹H NMR(300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ1.30-1.70 (m, 8H), 1.86 (d, J=12.6 Hz, 2H), 2.33-2.62(m, 5H), 2.68-3.04 (m, 2H), 3.58 (br s, 2H), 4.30 (br s, 2H), 6.64 (d,J=6.0 Hz, 2H), 6.87 (d, J=6.0 Hz, 2H);

¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 24.6, 26.3, 27.5, 28.1, 43.8, 43.9, 50.1,62.3, 115.4, 122.3, 143.4, 143.7, 154.1; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd forC₁₇H₂₅N₃O₂ (M⁺) 303.1944, found 303.1947; LRMS (EI) m/z 303 (M⁺), 195,167, 124, 108, 96, 80, 65, 55.

(3) [1,4′] Bipiperidinyl-1′-carboxylic acid 4-formylamino-phenylester(33)

To a stirred solution of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (272 mg, 1.32 mmol) inCH₂Cl₂ (5 mL) at 0° C. was added 98% formic acid (60.7 mg, 1.32 mmol)dropwise. After 10 minutes, the resulting mixture was added via syringeto a solution of the compound prepared in Example (2) (200 mg, 0.66mmol) in pyridine (5 mL) at 0° C. The reaction mixture was then allowedto warm to room temperature and stirred 3 h. The pyridine solvent wasevaporated and the residue was taken up in CH₂Cl₂, filtered, evaporatedand subjected directly to a basic alumina column (CH₂Cl₂/MeOH 95:5) togive 118 mg (83%) of a white solid, which consists, at room temperature,of a mixture of the cis and trans rotamers originating from hinderedrotation around the formamide carbon-nitrogen bond: IR (CHCl₃, cm⁻¹)3025, 3013, 2937, 2888, 2861, 1703, 1517, 1466, 1275, 1226, 1210; ¹H NMR(300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 1.38-1.80 (m, 8H), 1.90 (d, J=12 Hz, 2H), 2.40-2.70(m, 5H), 2.83 (t, J=12 Hz, 1H), 2.97 (t, J=12 Hz, 1H), 4.32 (m, 2H),7.03-7.11 (m, 3H), 7.37 (br s, 0.5H) (cis), 7.46 (d, J=10 Hz, 1H), 7.53(d, J=11 Hz, 0.5H) (trans), 8.32 (d, J=2 Hz, 0.5H) (cis), 8.59 (d, J=11Hz, 0.5H) (trans); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 24.6, 26.3, 27.6, 28.1,44.2, 44.0, 50.1, 82.2, 120.0, 121.0, 122.1, 123.0, 133.9, 134.3, 147.5,148.9, 153.9, 153.4, 159.1, 162.5; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₁₈H₂₅N₃O₃(M⁺) 331.1884, found 331.1896; LRMS (EI) m/z 331 (M⁺), 244, 202, 167,124, 80, 55.

(4) [1,4′] Bipiperidinyl-1′-carboxylic acid 4-isonitrilo-phenylester(34)

To a solution of the compound prepared in Example (3) (90.1 mg, 0.272mmol) in CH₂Cl₂ (10 mL) were successively added triethylamine (69.5 mg,0.688 mmol) them dropwise, at 0° C., a solution of triphosgene (68 mg,0.229 mmol) in dry CH₂Cl₂ (10 mL). The mixture was stirred 2 hours atroom temperature, washed with 7% NaHCO₃ (5 mL) and dried (MgSO₄). Thecrude brown residue obtained after evaporation of the solvent wassubjected to flash-chromatography (Et₂O/Et₂NH 95:5) to yield 67.2 mg(79%) of a white solid: IR (CHCl₃, cm⁻¹) 3034, 2937, 2131, 1718, 1504,1429, 1233, 1224, 1213, 1198, 1184; ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 1.32-1.75(m, 8H), 1.90 (br d, J=12.4 Hz, 2H), 2.32-2.65 (m, 5H), 2.84 (t, J=12.3Hz, 1H), 2.98 (t, J=12.1 Hz, 1H), 4.20-4.40 (m, 2H), 7.14 (d, J=8.8 Hz,2H), 7.37 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 25.0, 26.5, 27.8,28.5, 44.4, 50.6, 62.7, 123.3, 127.8, 152.1, 153.1, 164.4; HRMS (EI) m/zcalcd for C₁₈H₂₃N₃O₂ (M⁺) 313.1779, found 313.1790; LRMS (EI) m/z 313(M⁺), 195, 167, 124, 110, 84, 55.

(5) (20S)-7-Trimethylsilyl-Irinotecan (35)

Following the procedure described in Example 1-(2), the compoundprepared in Example 1-(1) (44.5 mg, 0.10 mmol), the compound prepared in(4) (93.9 mg, 0.3 mmol), and hexamethylditin (50 mg, 0.15 mmol) in drybenzene (1.5 mL) were irradiated for 9 hours at 70° with a 275 W GEsunlamp. The reaction was evaporated, dissolved in MeOH with a few dropsof DMSO to aid solubility and injected into a Waters reverse phase HPLC.The conditions used to effect separation were as follows. A Waters 600Esystem controller with a Waters 490E Programmable multiwavelengthdetector, a Sargent Welch plotter and Waters C-18 25×10 cartridgecolumns were employed. A gradient elution, [5:95 MeCN/H₂O (0.1% TFA) to30:70 MeCN/H₂O (0.1% TFA)], over 40 minutes time at 20 mL/min gave asemipurified grey solid after lyophilization. The grey solid was furtherpurified (CH₂Cl₂/EtOH 70:30) on a chromatotron using a 1 mm plate togive 12 mg (19%) of a yellow solid: [α]² _(D) +14.8 (c 0.2, CHCl₃); IR(CHCl₃, cm⁻¹) 3023, 2957, 2933, 1720, 1659, 1601, 1216, 1191, 1175,1158; ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.64 (s, 9H), 1.03 (t, J=7.3 Hz, 3H),1.50-1.51 (br m, 2H), 1.51-1.52 (br m, 6H), 1.84 (m, J=7.3 Hz, 2H),2.01-2.10 (br m, 2H), 2.60-2.75 (br s, 5H), 2.75-3.12 (br m, 2H),4.30-4.50 (br m, 2H), 5.30 (d, J=16.3 Hz, 1H), 5.31 (s, 2H), 5.74 (d,J=16.3 Hz, 1H), 7.55 (dd, J=9.0, 2.4 Hz, 1H), 7.63 (s, 1H), 8.01 (d,J=2.3 Hz, 1H), 8.19 (d, J=9 Hz, 1H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 1.5, 7.8,25.4, 29.7, 31.5, 43.8, 50.1, 51.8, 62.5, 66.3, 72.8, 97.5, 118.1,119.0, 125.1, 132.0, 132.3, 134.9, 143.4, 145.6, 146.4, 150.1, 150.5,152.8, 157.4, 174.0; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₃₄H₄₂N₄O₆Si (M⁺) 630.2898,found 630.2874; LRMS (EI) m/z 630 (M⁺), 586, 501, 457, 195, 167, 153,124, 111, 96, 84.

Example 7 Preparation of (20S)-11-fluoro-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin(see FIG. 2)

(1) 3-Fluoro-2-trimethylsilylbenzaldehyde (7)

The preparation of 3-fluoro-2-trimethylsilylbenzaldehyde proceedsthrough a selective ortho-metallation. See Comins, D. L. et al., J. Org.Chem., 49, 1078 (1984). See also Snieckus, V., Chem. Rev., 90, 879(1990). To a solution of N,N,N′-trimethylethylenediamine (2.70 mL, 20mmol) in THF (50 mL) was slowly added 1.6 N n-BuLi in hexanes (13 mL, 21mmol) at −20° C., followed by 3-fluorobenzaldehyde (2.10 mL, 20 mmol) 15min latter. After 15 minute at this temperature, 1.6 N n-BuLi in hexanes(38 mL, 60 mmol) was injected and the solution was stirred 1 h 30 at−35° C. Chlorotrimethylsilane (15 mL, 120 mmol) was added and thereaction mixture was stirred overnight at room temperature. The finalsolution was poured into ice-cooled 1 N HCl (150 mL), quickly extractedwith Et₂O (3×100), washed with brine and dried (Na₂SO₄). Afterevaporation of the solvents, the residue was purified byflash-chromatography (hexanes/AcOEt 95:5) to provide 3.25 g (83%) of anoil: IR (neat, cm⁻¹) 1701, 1440, 1252, 1233, 1109, 848, 764; ¹H NMR (300MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.40 (d, J=2.6 Hz, 9H), 7.18 (br t, J=9.0 Hz, 1H), 7.47(ddd, J₁=J₂=8.1 Hz, J₃=5.4 Hz, 1H), 7.70 (br d, J=7.5 Hz, 1H); ¹³C NMR(75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 1.8, 120.8 (d, J_(CF)=29 Hz), 126.8, 128.2, 131.2,143.3, 167.6 (d, J_(CF)=244 Hz), 192.4; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd forC₉H₁₀FOSi (M-CH₃ ⁺) 181.0485, found 181.0482; LRMS (EI) m/z 181 (M-CH₃⁺), 151, 125, 103, 91.

(2) 3-Fluoro-2-trimethylsilylbenzoic acid

A classical oxidation to the free acid was then performed. See Hill, L.R. et al., J. Org. Chem., 50, 470 (1985). To a solution of the compoundprepared in (1) (3.41 g, 17.3 mmol) in tert-butanol (20 mL) weresuccessively added a 2 N solution of 2-methyl-2-butene in THF (55 mL,110 mmol) then slowly, over a period of 10 minutes, a solution of 80%NaClO2 (2.55 g, 22.5 mmol) and NaH2PO₄.H₂O (3.10 g, 22.5 mmol) in water(18 mL). The resulting mixture was stirred 16 h at room temperature, thetert-butanol was evaporated, and the residue was taken up in 1 N NaOH(50 mL) and washed with hexanes (3×20 mL). The aqueous layer wasacidified with 1 N HCl to pH 2, saturated with NaCl, and extracted withEt₂O (3×50 mL). The combined organic layers were dried (Na₂SO₄) andevaporated to provide 3.13 g (85%) of a white solid: IR (NaCl, cm⁻¹)2982, 1700, 1434, 1294, 1271, 1253, 1230, 849, 763; ¹H NMR (300 MHz,CDCl₃) δ 0.39 (d, J=2.6 Hz, 9H), 7.16 (br t, J=9.1 Hz, 1H), 7.41 (ddd,J₁=J₂=7.9 Hz, J₃=5.6 Hz, 1H), 7.73 (br d, J=7.7 Hz, 1H); ¹³C NMR (75MHz, CDCl₃) δ 1.3, 119.5 (d, J_(CF)=27 Hz), 126.0, 127.3, 130.9, 138.0,167.5 (d, J_(CF)=243 Hz), 174.5; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₉H₁₀FO₂Si(M-CH₃ ⁺) 197.0434, found 197.0433; LRMS (EI) m/z 197 (M-CH₃ ⁺), 179,133, 115, 105.

(3) 3-Fluoro-2-trimethylsilylphenyl isocyanate (8)

Preparation of the Intermediate Isocyanate was carried out via a Curtiusrearrangement. See Capson, T. L. et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 25, 3515(1984) and references herein. To a solution of the compound prepared in(2) (3.03 g, 14.3 mmol) in CH₂Cl₂ (20 mL) was added oxalylchloride (1.30mL, 15.0 mmol) and the resulting mixture was stirred 3 h at roomtemperature. The residue obtained after evaporation of the solvent wasdiluted with THF (10 mL) and injected with vigorous stirring to aice-cooled solution of NaN₃ (3.70 g, 57 mmol) in H₂O (20 mL) and acetone(50 mL). After 15 min at 0° C. and 1 min at room temperature, thesolution was extracted with Et₂O (4×50 mL) and dried (Na₂SO₄). Theresidue obtained after evaporation of solvents was refluxed in toluenefor 1 h 30 to provide, upon solvent removal, 2.85 g (79%) of a slightlyyellow oil: IR (neat, cm⁻¹) 2269, 1598, 1433, 1252, 1228, 846, 788; ¹HNMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.38 (d, J=1.9 Hz, 9H), 6.82 (br t, J=8.3 Hz,1H), 6.90 (br d, J=8.2 Hz, 1H), 7.25 (ddd, J₁=J₂=8.1 Hz, J₃=6.6 Hz, 1H);¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.4, 112.6 (d, J_(CF)=26 Hz), 120.5, 122.5,131.5, 139.2, 167.4 (d, J_(CF)=241 Hz)

(4) 3-Fluoro-2-trimethylsilylphenyl isonitrile (9)

A deoxygenation then afforded the expected isonitrile. See Baldwin, J.E. et al., Tetrahedron, 39, 2989 (1983). Triethylamine (4.10 mL, 29.3mmol) was added slowly at 0° C. to a 2 N solution of trichlorosilane inCH₂Cl₂ (8.40 mL, 16.8 mmol) followed, 5 min latter, by the compoundprepared in Example (3) (2.35 g. 11.2 mmol). After 1 h 30 at 0° C. and30 min at room temperature, the solution was saturated with NH₃,filtered over Celite, washed with 5% NaH2PO₄ and dried (Na₂SO₄). Thecrude obtained after evaporation of the solvent was then subjected toflash-chromatography (hexanes/AcOEt 95:5) to afford 1.42 g (66%) of aslighly purple liquid: IR (neat, cm⁻¹) 2114, 1598, 1440, 1254, 1237,1110, 943, 848, 793; ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.45 (d, J=1.8 Hz, 9H),7.01 (br t, J=8.3 Hz, 1H), 7.17 (br d, J=7.7 Hz, 1H), 7.32 (ddd,J₁=J₂=8.0 Hz, J₃=6.1 Hz, 1H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.1, 116.5 (d,J_(CF)=26 Hz), 124.3, 131.6, 166.8 (d, J_(CF)=243 Hz), 166.9; HRMS (EI)m/z calcd for C₁₀H₁₂FNSi (M⁺) 193.0723, found 193.0715; LRMS (EI) m/z193 (M⁺), 178, 150, 116, 105.

(5) (20S)-11-Fluoro-7,12-bis(trimethylsilyl)camptothecin (11)

Following the procedure described in Example 1-(2), the compoundprepared in Example 1-(1) (43.5 mg, 0.098 mmol) and the compoundprepared in Example (4) (76 mg, 0.39 mmol) provided, afterflash-chromatography (CHCl₃/acetone 20:1), 33.4 mg (67%) of a slighlyyellow oil: [α]²⁰ _(D) +23.6 (c 0.2, CHCl₃); ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ0.53 (d, J=1.7 Hz, 9H), 0.60 (s, 9H), 1.02 (t, J=7.4 Hz, 3H), 1.88 (m,2H), 3.82 (br s, 1H), 5.28 (d, J=16.3 Hz, 1H), 5.29 (br s, 2H), 5.72 (d,J=16.3 Hz, 1H), 7.31 (t, J=8.7 Hz, 1H), 7.46 (s, 1H), 8.18 (dd, J=9.2,5.9 Hz, 1H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 1.6, 1.7, 7.7, 31.4, 51.8, 66.3,72.7, 97.2, 117.8 (d, J_(CF)=33 Hz), 124.3 (d, J_(CF)=28 Hz), 128.9,131.1, 133.1, 144.4, 146.7, 150.1, 153.4, 157.4, 167.6 (d, J_(CF)=245Hz), 173.9; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₂₆H₃₁FN₂O₄Si₂ (M⁺) 510.1806, found510.1806; LRMS (EI) m/z 510 (M⁺), 495, 466, 451, 395, 319.

(6) (20S)-11-Fluoro-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin (12)

A solution of the compound prepared in Example (5) (19.5 mg, 0.038 mmol)in 48% HBr (1 mL) was heated at 50° C. for 20 h. The reaction mixturewas slowly poured with vigorous stirring into saturated NaHCO₃ (10 mL),extracted with AcOEt (6×20 mL) and dried (Na₂SO₄). After evaporation ofthe solvent, the residue was purified by flash-chromatography(CHCl₃/acetone 8:1) to give 12.5 mg (83%) of a slighly yellow solid:[α]²⁰ _(D) +39.6 (c 0.2, CHCl₃); ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.62 (s, 9H),1.01 (t, J=7.4 Hz, 3H), 1.87 (m, 2H), 3.81 (br s, 1H), 5.28 (d, J=16.4Hz, 1H), 5.28 (br s, 2H), 5.72 (d, J=16.4 Hz, 1H), 7.31 (ddd, J=9.6,7.8, 2.8 Hz, 1H), 7.61 (s, 1H), 7.78 (dd, J=9.7, 2.7 Hz, 1H), 8.19 (dd,J=9.4, 5.8 Hz, 1H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 1.6, 7.8, 31.5, 51.7,66.3, 72.7, 97.8, 114.3 (d, J_(CF)=20 Hz), 117.7 (d, J_(CF)=26 Hz),118.5, 128.9, 130.0, 133.9, 144.4, 146.1, 149.3, 150.1, 151.7, 157.4,162.6 (d, J_(CF)=250 Hz), 173.9; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₂₃H₂₃FN₂O₄Si(M⁺) 438.1411, found 438.1412; LRMS (EI) m/z 438 (M⁺), 409, 394, 379,365, 338, 309.

Example 8 Preparation of (20S)-10-amino-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin(see FIG. 4)

(1) 4-tert-Butyloxycarbonylaminophenyl isonitrile (18)

The isonitrile was prepared in 2 steps via classical Boc-protectionfollowed by dehydration. See Einhorn, J. et al., Synlett, 37 (1991). Amixture of 4-aminoformanilide (1.71 g, 12.6 mmol), di-tert-butyldicarbonate (2.87 g, 13.2 mmol) and NaHCO₃ (1.11 g, 13.2 mmol) inabsolute EtOH (50 mL) was sonicated in a cleaning bath for 4 h. Thefinal solution was filtered through a pad of Celite and concentrated todryness. The residue was taken up in half brine (50 mL), extracted withAcOEt (6×30 mL) and dried (Na₂SO₄). After evaporation of the solvent,the residual oil was subjected to flash-chromatography (CHCl₃/MeOH 95:5)to give 2.85 g (96%) of 4-tert-butyloxycarbonylaminoformanilide, as awhite solid. This intermediate (945 mg, 4.0 mmol) was subjected to theconditions described in Example 5-(1) to provide, afterflash-chromatography (hexanes/AcOEt 9:1), 502 mg (58%) of a slighlybrown solid: IR (NaCl, cm⁻¹) 3370, 2121, 1691, 1524, 1412, 1364, 1239,1158, 832; ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 1.48 (s, 9H), 6.75 (br s, 1H), 7.26(d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.37 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ28.2, 81.3, 118.5, 127.1, 139.4, 152.3, 162.7; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd forC₁₂H₁₄N₂O₂ (M⁺) 218.1055, found 218.1044; LRMS (EI) m/z 218 (M⁺), 162,144.

(2) (20S)-10-tert-Butyloxycarbonylamino-7-trimethylsilyl camptothecin(19)

Following the procedure described in Example 1-(2), the compoundprepared in Example 1-(1) (44.5 mg, 0.10 mmol) and the compound preparedin Example (1) (65 mg, 0.30 mmol) provided, after flash-chromatography(CHCl₃/acetone 6:1), 32.5 mg (60%) of a slighly yellow solid: [α]²⁰ _(D)+28.0 (c 0.2, CHCl₃); ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.63 (s, 9H), 0.99 (t,J=7.4 Hz, 3H), 1.53 (s, 9H), 1.86 (m, 2H), 4.03 (br s, 1H), 5.24 (d,J=16.2 Hz, 1H), 5.26 (s, 2H), 5.70 (d, J=16.2 Hz, 1H), 7.00 (br s, 1H),7.47 (dd, J=9.2, 2.3 Hz, 1H), 7.55 (s, 1H), 8.02 (d, J=9.2 Hz, 1H), 8.56(br s, 1H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 1.3, 7.8, 28.2, 31.5, 51.8, 66.3,72.8, 97.1, 114.4, 117.8, 122.6, 131.3, 132.8, 135.0, 137.2, 142.9,144.3, 146.6, 149.2, 150.1, 157.4, 173.9; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd forC₂₃H₂₅N₃O₄Si (M-Boc⁺) 435.1614, found 435.1612; LRMS (EI) m/z 535 (M⁺),479, 435, 391, 362, 335.

(3) (20S)-10-Amino-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin (20)

A solution of the compound prepared in Example (2) (75.5 mg, 0.141 mmol)and TFA (500 mL) in CH₂Cl₂ (2 mL) was stirred 3 h at room temperature.The reaction mixture was then poured into saturated NaHCO₃ (50 mL),extracted with AcOEt (10×15 mL) and dried (Na₂SO₄). The residue obtainedafter evaporation of the solvents was purified by flash-chromatography(CHCl₃/MeOH 95:5) to afford 55.4 mg (90%) of a yellow solid: [α]²⁰ _(D)+18.7 (c 0.15, CHCl₃/MeOH 4:1); ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃/CD₃OD 4:1) δ 0.40(s, 9H), 0.80 (t, J=7.4 Hz, 3H), 1.70 (m, 2H), 5.05 (s, 2H), 5.08 (d,J=16.3 Hz, 1H), 5.43 (d, J=16.3 Hz, 1H), 7.05 (br s, 1H), 7.07 (d, J=8.0Hz, 1H), 7.38 (s, 1H), 7.74 (d, J=8.0 Hz, 1H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz,CDCl₃/CD₃OD 4:1) δ 0.6, 7.2, 30.8, 51.8, 65.5, 72.7, 97.0, 107.2, 116.8,122.0, 130.7, 134.0, 134.7, 139.9, 141.7, 145.8, 146.9, 151.2, 157.5,173.7; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₂₃H₂₅N₃O₄Si (M⁺) 435.1614, found435.1613; LRMS (EI) m/z 435 (M⁺), 391, 376, 335, 290.

Example 9 Preparation of (20S)-11-amino-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin

(1) 3-tert-Butyloxycarbonylaminophenyl isonitrile

The isonitrile was prepared in 2 steps following the same procedures asdescribed in Example 9-(1). In the first step, the Boc-protection of3-aminoformanilide (1.80 g, 13.2 mmol) provided, afterflash-chromatography (CHCl₃/MeOH 95:5), 2.65 g (85%) of3-tert-butyloxycarbonylaminoformanilide, as a white solid. Thisintermediate (412 mg, 1.74 mmol) was then subjected to the conditionsdescribed in Example 5-(1) to provide, after flash-chromatography(hexanes/AcOEt 9:1), 190 mg (50%) of a brown solid: IR (NaCl, cm⁻¹)3318, 2126, 1715, 1603, 1547, 1433, 1236, 1162, 782; ¹H NMR (300 MHz,CDCl₃) δ 1.49 (s, 9H), 6.67 (br s, 1H), 7.00 (m, 1H), 7.20-7.30 (m, 2H),7.60 (br s, 1H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 28.2, 81.3, 116.0, 118.9,120.6, 129.8, 139.5, 152.3, 163.6; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₁₂H₁₄N₂O₂(M⁺) 218.1055, found 218.1047; LRMS (EI) m/z 218 (M⁺), 196, 162, 152,118.

(2) (20S)-11-Amino-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin

Following the procedure described in Example 1-(2), the compoundprepared in Example 1-(1) (44.5 mg, 0.10 mmol) and the compound preparedin Example (1) (65.5 mg, 0.3 mmol) afforded, afterflash-chromatographies (CHCl₃/MeOH 95:5; CHCl₃/acetone 5:1), 23.1 mg(43%) of a slighly yellow oil. This intermediate (14.7 mg, 0.027 mmol)was then deprotected following the conditions described in Example 9-(3)to provide, after flash-chromatography (CHCl₃/MeOH 9:1), 11.8 mg (99%)of (20S)-11-amino-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin, as a yellow solid andwith the exclusion of other isomers: [α]²⁰ _(D) +15.0 (c 0.1, CHCl₃/MeOH4:1); ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃/CD₃OD 4:1) δ 0.44 (s, 9H), 0.86 (t, J=7.4Hz, 3H), 1.76 (m, 2H), 5.08 (s, 2H), 5.14 (d, J=16.4 Hz, 1H), 5.50 (d,J=16.3 Hz, 1H), 6.97 (dd, J=9.2, 2.5 Hz, 1H), 7.07 (d, J=2.5 Hz, 1H),7.50 (s, 1H), 7.84 (d, J=9.2 Hz, 1H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃/CD₃OD 4:1)δ 1.1, 7.4, 31.0, 51.7, 65.6, 97.9, 107.9, 117.8, 119.7, 125.9, 127.1,129.0, 130.4, 135.4, 144.3, 149.5, 149.9, 151.1, 157.6, 175.3; HRMS (EI)m/z calcd for C₂₃H₂₅N₃O₄Si (M⁺) 435.1614, found 435.1626; LRMS (EI) m/z435 (M⁺), 406, 391, 376, 335.

Example 10 Preparation of(20S)-11-fluoro-10-amino-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin (see FIG. 5)

(1) 4-tert-Butyloxycarbonylamino-3-fluoro-1-nitrobenzene (22)

To a solution of 2-fluoro-4-nitroaniline (21) [prepared according toKatritsky, A. R. et al., J. Org. Chem., 51, 5039 (1986)] (2.16 g, 13.9mmol) in CH₂Cl₂ (25 mL) were successively added di-tert-butyldicarbonate (3.19 g, 14.6 mmol), triethylamine (2.95 mL, 20.8 mmol) and4-dimethylaminopyridine (210 mg, 1.67 mmol) and the reaction mixture wasstirred 16 h at room temperature. The final solution was diluted withCH₂Cl₂ (75 mL), washed with ice-cooled 5% citric acid (4×50 mL) anddried (Na₂SO₄). After evaporation of the solvent, the residue wassubjected to flash-chromatography (Hexanes/AcOEt 9:5) to provide, inorder of elution, first 1.95 g (55%) of the mono-protected derivative,4-tert-butyloxycarbonylamino-3-fluoro-1-nitrobenzene, secondly 1.13 g(23%) of the bis-protected derivative,4-di-tert-butyloxycarbonylamino-3-fluoro-1-nitrobenzene. Thecharacteristics of the mono-protected derivative are as follows: ¹H NMR(300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 1.52 (s, 9H), 6.99 (br s, 1H), 7.95 (m, 1H), 8.03 (brd, J=9.2 Hz, 1H), 8.34 (br t, J=8.5 Hz, 1H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ28.1, 82.5, 110.9 (d, J_(CF)=23 Hz), 118.3, 120.8, 133.5, 141.7, 150.1(d, J_(CF)=243 Hz), 151.4; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₁₁H₁₃FN₂O₄ (M⁺)256.0859, found 258.0854; LRMS (EI) m/z 256 (M⁺), 200, 182, 57.

(2) 4-tert-Butyloxycarbonylamino-3-fluoroaniline (24)

Reduction of the nitro group to the amine function was carried outfollowing a classical procedure. See Ram, S. et al., Tetrahedron Lett.,25, 3415 (1984). To a solution of the compound prepared in Example (1)(1.62 g, 6.32 mmol) and ammonium formate (1.70 g, 27 mmol) in anhydrousMeOH (12 mL) was added 10% Pd—C (400 mg) in one portion. After 2 h atroom temperature, the final solution was filtered over Celite,concentrated and the residue was directly subjected toflash-chromatography (CHCl₃/MeOH 9:1) to provide 1.40 g (98%) of aslighly yellow oil: ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CD₃SOCD₃) δ 1.40 (s, 9H), 5.22 (s,2H), 6.25-6.35 (m, 2H), 6.93 (br t, J=8.0 Hz, 1H), 8.29 (br s, 1H); ¹³CNMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 28.5, 80.4, 102.1 (d, J_(CF)=24 Hz), 110.7, 117.2,122.8, 143.4, 153.1, 154.1 (d, J_(CF)=244 Hz); HRMS (EI) m/z calcd forC₁₁H₁₅FN₂O₂ (M⁺) 226.1118, found 226.1116; LRMS (EI) m/z 226 (M⁺), 170,126, 83, 57.

(3) 4-tert-Butyloxycarbonylamino-3-fluorophenyl isonitrile (25)

To a stirred solution of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (1.51 g, 7.31 mmol) inCH₂Cl₂ (15 mL) at 0° C. was added formic acid (275 mL, 7.31 mmol)dropwise. After 10 minutes, the resulting mixture was added over aperiod of 5 minutes to a solution of the compound prepared in Example(2) (1.28 g, 5.66 mmol) in CH₂Cl₂ (10 mL) and pyridine (0.61 mL, 7.50mmol) at 0° C. The reaction mixture was then allowed to warm to roomtemperature and stirred 16 h. After filtration over Celite, the finalsolution was concentrated and subjected to flash-chromatography(CHCl₃/AcOEt 85:15) to give 1.44 g (100%) of4-tert-butyloxycarbonylamino-3-fluoroformamide, as a white solid. Thisintermediate (1.38 g, 5.43 mmol) was dissolved in CH₂Cl₂ (20 mL) and, at0° C., were successively added tetrabromomethane (1.93 g, 5.80 mmol),triphenylphosphine (1.52 g, 5.80 mmol), and1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO, 650 mg, 5.80 mmol). The reactionmixture was allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred 2 h. Afterevaporation of the solvent, the crude was triturated in ice-cooled Et₂O(20 mL) and filtered over Celite. The residue obtained after evaporationof the solvent was purified by flash-chromatography (hexanes/AcOEt 95:5to 9:1) to provide 660 mg (51%) of a slighly brown solid: ¹H NMR (300MHz, CDCl₃) δ 1.51 (s, 9H), 6.76 (br s, 1H), 7.05-7.20 (m, 2H), 8.17 (brt, J=8.6 Hz, 1H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 28.1, 81.8, 113.3 (d,J_(CF)=25 Hz), 119.7, 123.0, 128.6, 150.6 (d, J_(CF)=242 Hz), 151.8,164.2; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₁₂H₁₃FN₂O₂ (M⁺) 236.0961, found236.0952; LRMS (EI) m/z 236 (M⁺), 180, 163, 136, 08, 57.

(4)(20S)-10-tert-Butyloxycarbonylamino-11-fluoro-7-trimethylsilyl-camptothecin(26) and(20S)-10-tert-butyloxycarbonylamino-9-fluoro-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin(27) (mixture respectively 1.9:1)

Following the procedure described in Example 1-(2), the compoundprepared in Example 1-(1) (66.8 mg, 0.15 mmol) and the compounddescribed in Example (3) (110 mg, 0.50 mmol) provided, afterflash-chromatographies (CHCl₃/MeOH 96:4; CHCl₃/acetone 10:1), 47.6 mg(57%) of a slighly yellow oil containing the above regioisomers: ¹H NMR(300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.54 (d, J=4.9 Hz, 9H_(minor)), 0.65 (s, 9H_(major)),0.99 (t, J=7.3 Hz, 3H), 1.86 (m, 2H), 3.93 (br s, 1H), 5.24 (d, J=16.3Hz, 1H_(minor)), 5.25 (br s, 2H_(major)), 5.25 (d, J=16.3 Hz,1H_(major)), 5.30 (br s, 2 H_(minor)), 5.68 (d, J=16.3 Hz, 1H_(minor)),5.69 (d, J=16.3 Hz, 1H_(major)), 6.98 (d, J=3.6 Hz, 1H_(minor)), 7.02(d, J=3.6 Hz, 1H_(major)), 7.52 (s, 1H_(minor)), 7.53 (s, 1H_(major)),7.74 (d, J=12.1 Hz, 1H_(major)), 7.92 (br d, J=9.3 Hz, 1 H_(minor)),8.60 (br t, J=8.4 Hz, 1H_(minor)), 9.08 (d, J=8.7 Hz, 1H_(major)); HRMS(EI) m/z calcd for C₂₈H₃₂FN₃O₆Si 553.2044, found 553.2022; LRMS (EI) m/z553 (M⁺), 493, 479, 453, 435, 424, 409, 394, 380, 353.

(5) (20S)-10-Amino-11-fluoro-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin (28)

The compound prepared in Example (4) (41.3 mg, 0.0746 mmol) wasdeprotected following the conditions described in Example 9-(3). Afterworkup, the crude was subjected to a flash-chromatography(CHCl₃/acetone/MeOH 70:10:1.5) to provide, in order of elution, first14.1 mg (42%) of the pure(20S)-10-amino-11-fluoro-7-trimethylsilyl-camptothecin, then a 15.2 mgof a c.a. 1:1 mixture of(20S)-10-amino-11-fluoro-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin and(20S)-10-amino-9-fluoro-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin. Thecharacteristics of (20S)-10-amino-11-fluoro-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecinare as follows: [α]²⁰ _(D) +20.0 (c 0.2, CHCl₃/MeOH 4:1); ¹H NMR (300MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.59 (s, 9H), 1.00 (t, J=7.4 Hz, 3H), 1.86 (m, 2H), 3.86(br s, 1H), 4.31 (br s, 2H), 5.21 (br s, 2H), 5.26 (d, J=16.4 Hz, 1H),5.69 (d, J=16.4 Hz, 1H), 7.30 (d, J=9.3 Hz, 1H), 7.50 (s, 1H), 7.69 (d,J=11.8 Hz, 1H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃/CD₃OD 10:1) δ 1.4, 7.7, 31.4,51.9, 66.1, 72.7, 97.1, 109.4, 113.6 (d, J_(CF)=20 Hz), 117.3, 130.8,134.4, 136.4, 140.2, 142., 146.5, 147.6, 150.6, 153.9, 154.0 (d,J_(CF)=251 Hz), 157.6, 173.9; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₂₃H₂₄FN₃O₄Si (M⁺)453.1520, found 453.1500; LRMS (EI) m/z 453 (M⁺), 424, 409, 394, 352,181, 131, 119.

Example 11 Preparation of(20S)-11,12-difluoro-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin and(20S)-9,10-difluoro-7-trimethylsilylcamptothecin (mixture respectively3:1)

Following the procedure described in Example 1-(2), the compoundprepared in Example 1-(1) (44.5 mg, 0.10 mmol) and 2,3-difluorophenylisonitrile [prepared in 20% yield following the procedure of Weber, W.P. et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 13, 1637 (1972) with stirring 2 days atroom temperature before workup] (42 mg, 0.30 mmol) afforded, afterflash-chromatographies (CHCl₃/MeOH 95:5; CHCl₃/acetone 10:1 to 4:1),22.6 mg (50%) of a slighly yellow oil containing the above regioisomers:¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.56 (d, J=4.8 Hz, 1H_(minor)), 0.65 (s,9H_(major)), 1.00 (t, J=7.4 Hz, 3H), 1.86 (m, 2H), 3.87 (br s,1H_(minor)), 3.97 (br s, 1H_(major)), 5.0-5.47 (m, 3H), 5.68 (d, J=16.5Hz, 1H), 5.70 (d, J=16.4 Hz, 1H_(minor)), 7.31 (m, 1 H_(minor)), 7.44(dt, J=9.4, 7.4 Hz, 1H_(major)), 7.59 (s, 1 H_(minor)), 7.60 (s,1H_(major)), 7.68 (m, 1H_(minor)), 7.93 (m, 1 H_(major)); HRMS (EI) m/zcalcd for C₂₃H₂₂F₂N₂O₄Si (M⁺) 456.1317, found 456.1321; LRMS (EI) m/z456 (M⁺), 438, 428, 412, 383, 356, 327.

Example 12 Preparation of 20S-7-triisopropylsilylcamptothecin

(1)(S)-4-Ethyl-4-hydroxy-6-iodo-3-oxo-7-(triisopropylsilyl-2-propynyl)-1H-pyrano[3,4-c]-8-pyridone

Following the procedure outlined in example 1-(1), iodopyridone 2, (200mg, 0.598 mmol) was combined with triisopropylsilyl-2-propynyl bromide(329 mg, 1.196 mmol). Chromatography (CH₂Cl₂/AcOEt 9:1) gave 41.1 mg(13%) of a white foam: ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.91 (t, J=7 Hz, 6H),0.99 (s, 18H), 1.71 (m, J=7 Hz, 2H), 3.65 (s, 1H), 5.0-5.2 (m, 3H), 5.45(d, J=16 Hz, 1H), 7.13 (s, 1H);

¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 7.7, 11.2, 18.7, 31.7, 44.6, 66.5, 71.9, 87.7,100.1, 116.6, 118.2, 148.6, 158.0, 173.4;

HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₂₂H₃₂INO₄Si (M⁺) 529.1162, found 529.1145; LRMS(EI) m/z 529 (M⁺), 486, 442, 82, 59.

(2) (20S)-7-Triisopropylsilylcamptothecin

Following the procedure outlined in example 1-(2), the pyridonedescribed above (41 mg, 0.077 mmol) yielded 23.3 mg (60%) of a lightyellow solid: [α]²⁰ _(D) +31.7 (c 0.2, CH₂Cl₂); IR (CHCl₃, cm⁻¹) 3026,3008, 2996, 2962, 2950, 2932, 2892, 2869, 1742, 1658, 1598, 1555, 1466,1230, 1220, 1158; ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 1.02 (t, J=7 Hz, 3H), 1.18(d, J=7 Hz, 18H), 1.60-2.0 (m, 5H), 2.17 (s, 1H), 5.31 (d, J=16 Hz, 1H),5.41 (s, 2H), 5.76 (d, J=16, 1H), 7.61 (t, J=7 Hz, 1H), 7.69 (s, 1H),7.78 (t, J=7 Hz 1H), 8.20 (t, J=7 Hz, 2H); ¹³C NMR (125 MHz, CDCl₃) δ7.9, 13.5, 19.2, 31.7, 52.6, 66.5, 72.9, 98.4, 118.6, 127.1, 129.7,130.2, 130.4, 133.6, 136.3, 145.0, 146.0, 150.3, 150.6, 157.4, 174.1;HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₂₉H₃₆N₂O₄Si (M⁺) 504.2444, found 504.2436; LRMS(EI) m/z 504 (M⁺), 461, 433, 419, 405, 391, 375, 361, 347, 311, 275,174, 93, 69, 59.

Example 13 Preparation of 20S-7-triisopropylsilylcamptothecin

(1)(S)-4-Ethyl-4-hydroxy-6-iodo-3-oxo-7-(triethylsilyl-2-propynyl)-1H-pyrano[3,4-c]-8-pyridone

Following the procedure outlined in example 1-(1), iodopyridone 2, (150mg, 0.450 mmol) was combined with triethylsilyl-2-propynyl bromide (210mg, 0.90 mmol). Chromatography (CH₂Cl₂/AcOEt 9:1) gave 97.0 mg (45%) ofa white foam: ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.54 (q, J=8 Hz, 6H), 0.92 (t,J=8 Hz, 12H), 1.74 (m, J=7 Hz, 2H), 3.57 (s, 1H), 4.9-5.1 (m, 3H), 5.46(d, J=16 Hz, 1H), 7.13 (s, 1H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 4.1, 7.4, 7.6,31.5, 44.5, 66.3, 71.8, 88.7, 99.2, 100.0, 116.5, 118.1, 148.5, 158.0,173.2; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₁₉H₂₆INO₄Si (M⁺) 487.0676, found487.0688; LRMS (EI) m/z 487 (M⁺), 458, 430, 420, 402, 360, 332, 153,141, 125, 96, 83, 68, 57.

(2) (20S)-7-Triethylsilylcamptothecin

Following the procedure outlined in example 1-(2), the pyridonedescribed above (48.7 mg, 0.1 mmol) yielded 29.8 mg (65%) of a lightyellow solid: [α]²⁰ _(D) +35.9 (c 0.2, CH₂Cl₂); IR (CHCl₃, cm⁻¹) 3015,3002, 2960, 2935, 1741, 1658, 1599, 1219, 1199, 1158; ¹H NMR (300 MHz,CDCl₃) δ 0.80-1.00 (m, 12H), 1.0-1.18 (m, 6H), 1.70-1.90 (m, 2H),5.22-5.27 (m, 3H), 5.69 (d, J=16 Hz, 1H), 7.58 (t, J=7 Hz, 1H), 7.63 (s,1H), 7.72 (t, J=7 Hz 1H), 8.18 (m, 2H); ¹³C NMR (125 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 5.0,7.6, 7.9, 31.7, 52.1, 66.5, 72.9, 97.7, 118.3, 127.4, 127.9, 129.7,131.2, 132.6, 136.1, 142.6, 146.6, 147.9, 150.2, 150.9, 157.6, 174.1;HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₂₆H₃₀N₂O₄Si (M⁺) 462.1975, found 462.1982; LRMS(EI) m/z 462 (M⁺), 433, 418, 405, 389, 361, 256, 220, 205, 189, 178,149, 137, 123, 109, 95, 81, 69, 57.

Example 14 Preparation of (20S)-7-(dimethyl-(1′S,2′S,5′S) 7,7dimethylnorpinylsilyl)camptothecin

(1) (S)-4-Ethyl-4-hydroxy-6-iodo-3-oxo-7-(dimethyl-(1S,2S,5S) 7,7dimethylnorpinylsilyl-2-propynyl)-1H-pyrano[3,4-c]-8-pyridone

Following the procedure outlined in example 1-(1), iodopyridone 2 (150mg, 0.450 mmol) was combined with dimethyl-(1S,2S,5S)7,7dimethylnorpinylsilyl-2-propynyl bromide (281 mg, 0.90 mmol).Chromatography (CH₂Cl₂/AcOEt 9:1) gave 100.8 mg (39%) of a white foam:¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.10 (d, J=2 Hz, 6H), 0.48-0.70 (m, 2H), 0.72(s, 3H), 0.93 (t, J=7 Hz, 3H), 1.10 (s, 3H), 1.15-1.40 (m, 3H),1.60-1.85 (m, 6H), 1.88-2.00 (m, 1H), 2.05-2.20 (m, 1H), 3.58 (s, 1H),4.95 (m, 3H), 5.46 (d, J=16 Hz, 1H), 7.13 (s, 1H); ¹³C NMR (75 MHz,CDCl₃) δ 0.78, 7.8, 20.2, 23.1, 24.0, 24.8, 25.3, 27.0, 31.3, 31.7,39.7, 40.7, 44.7, 49.1, 66.5, 71.9, 91.0, 98.5, 100.3, 116.6, 118.3,148.7, 158.0, 173.4.

(2) (20S)-7-(dimethyl-(1′S,2′S,5′S) 7, 7dimethylnorpinylsilyl)camptothecin

Following the procedure outlined in example 1-(2), the pyridonedescribed above (57.0 mg, 0.1 mmol) yielded 29.4 mg (54%) of a lightyellow solid: [α]²⁰ _(D) +29.2 (c 0.2, CH₂Cl₂); IR (CHCl₃, cm⁻¹) 3020,3000, 2980, 2972, 2939, 2914, 2824, 2867, 1741, 1658, 1599, 1556, 1264,1231, 1201, 1157, 843;

¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.50-0.70 (m, 8H), 0.90-1.10 (m, 9H),1.10-1.35 (m, 4H), 1.40-1.60 (m, 3H), 1.72 (m, 1H), 1.80-1.95 (m, 2H),2.05-2.11 (m, 2H), 5.25 (d, J=16 Hz 1H), 5.27 (s, 2H), 5.69 (d, J=16 Hz,1H), 7.58 (t, J=8 Hz, 1H), 7.62 (s, 1H), 7.72 (t, J=8 Hz, 1H), 8.10-8.2(m, 2H); ¹³C NMR (125 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 1.4, 7.9, 19.9, 23.0, 24.6, 25.3,26.8, 31.6, 31.7, 39.6, 40.5, 49.3, 52.0, 66.5, 72.9, 97.7, 118.3,127.3, 128.3, 129.7, 131.2, 132.1, 134.6, 144.6, 146.6, 148.0, 150.2,150.9, 157.6, 174.0; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₃₂H₃₈N₂O₄Si (M⁺) 542.2601,found 542.2588; LRMS (EI) m/z 542 (M⁺), 498, 487, 460, 443, 431, 406,387, 377, 362, 333, 318, 304, 289, 275, 219, 178, 166, 141, 115, 95, 67.

Example 15 (20S)-7-(3-cyanopropyldimethylsilyl)camptothecin

(1)(S)-4-Ethyl-4-hydroxy-6-iodo-3-oxo-7-(3-cyanopropyldimethylsilyl-2-propynyl)-1H-pyrano[3,4-c]-8-pyridone

Following the procedure cited by Rico and co-workers (J. Org. Chem.1994, 59, 415), iodopyridone 2, (150 mg, 0.450 mmol) was combined with3-cyanopropyldimethylsilyl-2-propynyl bromide (165 mg, 0.678 mmol),K₂CO₃ (124 mg, 0.90 mmol), Bu₄N⁺Br⁻ (14.5 mg, 0.045 mmol), H₂O (0.02 mL)and toluene (3.6 mL). This mixture was refluxed for 1 h. Afterfiltration and chromatography (CH₂Cl₂/AcOEt 9:1) 34.0 mg (15%) of awhite oil was obtained: ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.17 (s, 6H),0.70-0.80 (m, 2H), 0.98 (t, J=7 Hz, 3H), 1.70-1.90 (m, 4H), 2.39 (t,J=7, 2H), 3.66 (s, 1H), 4.9-5.22 (m, 3H), 5.51 (d, J=16 Hz, 1H), 7.19(s, 1H);

¹³C NMR (125 MHz, CDCl₃) δ−2.1, 7.8, 15.4, 20.5, 20.6, 31.6, 44.6, 66.4,71.9, 89.1, 99.6, 100.0, 116.7, 118.3, 119.7, 148.8, 158.0, 173.3; HRMS(EI) m/z calcd for C₁₉H₂₃IN₂O₄Si (M⁺) 498.0472, found 498.0480; LRMS(EI) m/z 498 (M⁺), 483, 470, 445, 430, 416, 402, 392, 371, 348, 335,306, 290, 266, 223, 202, 185, 163, 136, 126, 109, 98, 81, 69, 57.

(2) (20S)-7-(3-cyanopropyldimethylsilyl)camptothecin

Following the procedure outlined in example 1-(2), the pyridonedescribed above (25.0 mg, 0.05 mmol) yielded 9.8 mg (41%) of a lightyellow solid: [α]²⁰ _(D) +34.3 (c 0.2, CH₂Cl₂); IR (CHCl₃, cm⁻¹) 3025,3016, 1741, 1659, 1600, 1264, 1222;

¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.71 (s, 6H), 1.05 (t, J=7 Hz, 3H), 1.26 (m,2H), 1.66 (m, 2H), 1.90 (m, 2H), 2.35 (t, J=7 Hz, 2H), 3.76 (s, 1H),5.31 (d, J=16 Hz, 1H), 5.31 (s, 2H), 5.75 (d, J=16 Hz, 1H), 7.67 (m,2H), 7.82 (t, J=8 Hz, 1H), 8.17 (d, J=8 Hz 1H), 8.24 (d, J=8 Hz, 1H);¹³C NMR (125 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.2, 7.9, 16.8, 20.7, 20.73, 31.7, 50.9,66.5, 72.8, 97.9, 118.5, 119.2, 127.7, 127.8, 130.0, 131.4, 131.9,135.2, 141.9, 146.3, 148.1, 150.3, 151.1, 157.5, 174.0; HRMS (EI) m/zcalcd for C₂₆H₂₇N₃O₄Si (M⁺) 473.1771, found 473.1755; LRMS (EI) m/z 473(M⁺), 444, 429, 414, 400, 389, 373 362, 344, 331, 303, 289, 2.75, 245,219, 166, 152, 130, 98, 71.

Example 16 Preparation of(20S)-7-(3-halopropyldimethylsilyl)camptothecin

(1) (S)-4-Ethyl-4-hydroxy-6-iodo(and6-bromo)-3-oxo-7-(3-chloropropyldimethylsilyl-2-propynyl)-1H-pyrano[3,4-c]-8-pyridone

Following the procedure outlined in example 1-(1), [iodopyridone 2 (150mg, 0.450 mmol) was combined with 3-chloropropyldimethylsilyl-2-propynylbromide (228 mg, 0.90 mmol). Chromatography (CH₂Cl₂/AcOEt 9:1) gave 75.4mg (33%) of a clear oil. Analysis of the NMR showed the presence of thealkyl bromide in addition to the desired chloro derivative in a 1.6:1ratio in favor of the former.: ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.09 (s, 6H),0.60-0.70 (m, 2H), 0.85-0.89 (t, J=7 Hz, 3H), 1.60-1.95 (m, 4H), 3.33(t, J=7 Hz, 2H, assigned to iodo), 3.44 (t, J=7 Hz, 2H, assigned tobromo), 3.75 (s, 1H), 4.91-5.18 (m, 3H), 5.42 (d, J=16 Hz, 1H), 7.12 (s,1H).

(2) (20S)-7-(3-halopropyldimethylsilyl)camptothecin

Following the procedure outlined in example 1-(2), the pyridonedescribed above (51 mg, 0.1 mmol) yielded 23 mg (49%) of a light yellowsolid. Analysis of the spectral data identified this solid as a 3component mixture corresponding to the chloro, bromo and the iododerivatives in a 1.6:1:1.3 ratio: [α]²⁰ _(D) +30.8 (c 0.2, CH₂Cl₂); IR(CHCl₃, cm⁻¹) 3029, 3012, 2980, 2963, 2933, 1742, 1658, 1600, 1556,1258, 1233, 1218, 1200, 1158, 1045, 843, 822, 794; ¹H NMR (300 MHz,CDCl₃) δ 0.69 (s, 6H), 1.04 (t, J=7 Hz, 3H), 1.18-1.30 (m, 2H), 1.60-2.0(m, 4H), 3.15 (t, J=7 Hz, 2H, assigned to iodo), 3.36 (t, J=7 Hz, 2H,assigned to bromo), 3.48 (t, J=7 Hz, 2H, assigned to chloro), 3.88 (s,1H), 5.30 (d, J=16 Hz, 1H), 5.31 (s, 2H), 5.74 (d, J=16 Hz, 1H),7.62-7.66 (m, 2H), 7.87 (t, J=8 Hz, 1H), 8.18 (d, J=8 Hz, 1H), 8.22 (d,J=8 Hz, 1H); ¹³C NMR (125 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.2, 7.9, 14.7, 27.5, 31.7,47.4, 51.9, 66.4, 72.8, 98.2, 118.6, 127.7, 127.9, 130.0, 131.0, 132.0,135.2, 146.1, 147.6, 150.2, 157.5, 174.0; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd forC₂₅H₂₇ClN₂O₄Si (M⁺) 482.1429, found 482.1413; LRMS (EI) m/z 482 (M⁺),453, 438, 361, 305, 275.

Example 17 Preparation of(20S)10-acetoxy-7-tert-butyldimethylsilylcamptothecin

Following the procedure outlined in example 1-(2), the pyridonedescribed above (34.5 mg, 0.071 mmol) and p-acetoxyisonitrile yielded21.3 mg (58%) of a light yellow solid: [α]²⁰ _(D) +36.2 (c 0.2, CH₂Cl₂);IR (CHCl₃, cm⁻¹) 3029, 3000, 2958, 2931, 2902, 2885, 2859, 1742, 1659,1600, 1557, 1504, 1464, 1371, 1256, 1232, 1195, 1166, 1045; ¹H NMR (300MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.69 (s, 6H), 0.90 (s, 9H), 1.04 (t, J=7 Hz, 3H),1.80-2.00 (m, J=7 Hz, 2H), 2.40 (s, 3H), 3.81 (s, 1H), 5.30 (d, J=16 Hz1H), 5.31. (s, 2H), 5.75 (d, J=16 Hz, 1H), 7.53 (dd, J₁=9 Hz, J₂=2 Hz,1H), 7.65 (s, 1H), 8.08 (d, J=2 Hz, 1H), 8.21 (d, J=9 Hz, 1H);

¹³C NMR (125 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.6, 7.9, 19.3, 21.5, 27.2, 31.7, 52.5, 66.5,72.9, 97.7, 118.4, 120.4, 124.8, 132.1, 133.2, 136.7, 142.8, 146.2,146.4, 149.0, 150.2, 150.8, 157.5, 169.1, 174.1; LRMS (EI) m/z 520 (M⁺),478, 463, 421, 377, 347, 320, 291, 57.

Example 18 (2) (20S)10-Acetoxy-7-tert-butyldimethylsilylcamptothecin

Following the procedure outlined in example 2-(2), the pyridonedescribed above (34.5 mg, 0.071 mmol) yielded, using the samechromatographic conditions, 21.3 mg (58%) of a light yellow solid: [α]²⁰_(D) +36.2 (c 0.2, CH₂Cl₂); IR (CHCl₃, cm⁻¹) 3029, 3000, 2958, 2931,2902, 2885, 2859, 1742, 1659, 1600, 1557, 1504, 1464, 1371, 1256, 1232,1195, 1166, 1045; ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.69 (s, 6H), 0.90 (s, 9H),1.04 (t, J=7 Hz, 3H), 1.80-2.00 (m, J=7 Hz, 2H), 2.40 (s, 3H), 3.81 (s,1H), 5.30 (d, J=16 Hz 1H), 5.31. (s, 2H), 5.75 (d, J=16 Hz, 1H), 7.53(dd, J₁=9 Hz, J₂=2 Hz, 1H), 7.65 (s, 1H), 8.08 (d, J=2 Hz, 1H), 8.21 (d,J=9 Hz, 1H); ¹³C NMR (125 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 0.6, 7.9, 19.3, 21.5, 27.2,31.7, 52.5, 66.5, 72.9, 97.7, 118.4, 120.4, 124.8, 132.1, 133.2, 136.7,142.8, 146.2, 146.4, 149.0, 150.2, 150.8, 157.5, 169.1, 174.1; HRMS (EI)m/z calcd for C₂₈H₃₂N₂O₆Si (M⁺) 520.2030, found 520.2014 LRMS (EI) m/z520 (M⁺), 478, 463, 421, 377, 347, 320, 291, 57.

Example 19

(20S)10-Hydroxy-7-tert-butyldimethylsilylcamptothecin

Following the procedure outlined in example 5, (13.4 mg, 0.026 mmol) ofthe compound described in example 18 was converted to the hydroxyderivative. Purification (2:1 CH₂Cl₂:Acetone) on a preparative TLC plategave 10.6 mg (85%) of a yellow solid: [α]²⁰ _(D) +17.4 (c 0.2, 3:1CH₂Cl₂/MeOH); ¹H NMR (300 MHz, 3:1 CDCl₃/CD₃OD) δ 0.66 (s, 6H),0.88-1.05 (m, 12H), 1.80-2.00 (m, 2H), 5.25-5.30 (m, 3H), 5.70 (d, J=16Hz, 1H), 7.37 (dd, J₁=9 Hz, J₂=2 Hz, 1H), 7.54 (d, J=2 Hz, 1H), 7.60 (s,1H), 8.05 (d, J=9 Hz, 1H); ¹³C NMR (125 MHz, (3:1) CDCl₃:CD₃OD) δ 8.1,20.6, 27.6, 30.4, 31.9, 53.6, 66.5, 73.9, 98.6, 112.1, 118.8, 123.3,132.1, 135.6, 137.4, 141.6, 143.8, 147.3, 148.4, 152.6, 157.5, 158.7,174.7; HRMS (EI) m/z calcd for C₂₆H₃₀N₂O₅Si (M⁺) 478.1924, found478.1947 LRMS (EI) m/z 478 (M⁺), 434, 421, 377, 304, 284, 227, 178, 149,137, 109, 97, 83, 69, 57.

Although the present invention has been described in detail inconnection with the above examples, it is to be understood that suchdetail is solely for that purpose and that variations can be made bythose skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of theinvention except as it may be limited by the following claims.

1.-13. (canceled)
 14. A method of administering a topoisomeraseinhibiting agent to a mammal, comprising administering apharmaceutically effective amount of a compound having the followingformula or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof:

wherein R¹ and R² are independently the same or different and arehydrogen, an alkyl group an aminoalkyl group, an alkylaminoalkyl group,a haloalkyl group, a hydroxyalkyl group, an alkenyl group, an alkynylgroup, an alkoxyl group, an aryloxy group, a carbamoyloxy group, ahalogen, a hydroxyl group, a nitro group, a cyano group, an azido groupsa formyl group, a hydrazino group, —C(O)R^(f), wherein R^(f) is an alkylgroup, a haloalkyl group, an alkoxyl group, an amino group or a hydroxylgroup, an amino group, an alkylamino group, a dialkylamino group,—SR^(c), wherein R^(c) is hydrogen, —C(O)R^(f), an alkyl group, or anaryl group, —OC(O)R^(d) or —OC(O)OR^(d), wherein R^(d) is an alkylgroup; or R¹ and R² together form a group of the formula —O(CH₁)_(n)O—wherein n represents the integer 1 or 2: R³ is H, F, a halogen atom, anitro group, an amino group, a hydroxyl group, or a cyano group; or R²and R³ together form a group of the formula —O(CH₂)_(n)O— wherein nrepresents the integer 1 or 2: R⁴ is H, F, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group a C₂₋₃alkenyl group, a C₂₋₃ alkynyl group, or a C₁₋₃ alkoxyl group; R⁵ is aC₁₋₁₀ alkyl group, or a propargyl group; and R⁶, R⁷ and R⁸ areindependently a C₁₋₁₀ alkyl group, a C₂₋₁₀ alkenyl group, a C₂₋₁₀alkynyl group, an aryl group or a —(CH₂)NR⁹ group, wherein N is aninteger within the range of 1 through 10 and R⁹ is a hydroxyl group,alkoxy group, an amino group, an alkylamino group, a dialkylamino group,a halogen atom, a cyano group or a nitro group; provided that at leastone of R¹, R², R³ and R⁴ is not H, a halogen, an alkyl group, an aminogroup or a nitro group.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein R⁴ is H. 16.The method of claim 14, wherein R¹ and R² are independently the same ordifferent and are H, a hydroxy group, a halogen, an amino group, a nitrogroup, a cyano group, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group, a C₂₋₃ alkenyl group, a C₂₋₃alkynyl group or a C₁₋₃ alkoxyl group.
 17. The method of claim 14,wherein R¹ and R² are independently the same or different and are a C₁₋₃perhaloalkyl group, a C₁₋₃ aminoalkyl group, a C₁₋₃ alkylamino group ora C₁₋₃ dialkylamino group.
 18. The method of claim 14, wherein R¹ and R²are independently the same or different and are H, a methyl group, anamino group, a nitro group, a cyano group, or a hydroxyl group.
 19. Themethod of claim 14, wherein R¹ and R² are independently the same ordifferent and are a methylamino group, a dimethylamino group, anethylamino group, a diethylamino group, a hydroxymethyl group, anaminomethyl group, a methylaminomethyl group, or a dimethylaminomethylgroup.
 20. The method of claim 14, wherein R³ is F, an amino group, or ahydroxyl group.
 21. The method of claim 14, wherein R⁵ is an ethylgroup.
 22. The method of claim 14, wherein R⁶, R⁷ and R⁸ areindependently the same or different and are a C₁₋₆ alkyl group, a phenylgroup or a —(CH₂)_(N)R⁹ group, wherein N is an integer within the rangeof 1 through 6 and R⁹ is a hydroxyl group, alkoxy group an amino group,an alkylamino group a dialkylamino group, a halogen atom, a cyano groupor a nitro group.
 23. The method of claim 14, wherein R⁶, R⁷ and R⁸ aremethyl groups.
 24. The method of claim 14, wherein R² and R³ form amethylenedioxy group, or a 1,2-ethylenedioxy group.
 25. The method ofclaim 14, wherein R³ is F.
 26. The method of claim 14, wherein thecompound is 7-trimethylsilyl camptothecin, 7-trimethylsilyl-10-acetoxycamptothecin, 7-trimethylsilyl-10-hydroxy camptothecin,7-trimethylsilyl-11-fluoro camptothecin, 7-trimethylsilyl-9-fluorocamptothecin, 7-trimethylsilyl-10-fluoro camptothecin,7-trimethylsilyl-10-amino camptothecin, 7-trimethylsilyl-11-aminocamptothecin, 7-trimethylsilyl-11, 12-difluoro camptothecin,7-trimethylsilyl-9,10-difluoro camptothecin,7-trimethylsilyl-10-amino-1′-fluoro camptothecin,7-tert-butyldimethylsilyl camptothecin,7-tert-butyldimethylsilyl-10-acetoxy camptothecin,7-tert-butyldimethylsilyl-10-hydroxy camptothecin,7-dimethyl-3-cyanopropylsilyl camptothecin, 7-dimethyl-3-halopropylsilylcamptothecin, 7-triphenylsilyl camptothecin, 7-triethylsilylcamptothecin, 7-dimethylnorpinylsilyl camptothecin.
 27. The method ofclaim 14, wherein R² is a hydroxy group and R⁴ is H.
 28. The method ofclaim 27, wherein R¹ is H, a hydroxyl group, a halogen, an amino group,a nitro group, a cyano group, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group, a C₂₋₃ alkenyl group,a C₂₋₃ alkynyl group or a C₁₋₃ alkoxyl group.
 29. The method of claim27, wherein R¹ is a C₁₋₃ perhaloalkyl group, a C₁₋₃ aminoalkyl group, aC₁₋₃ alkylamino group or a C₁₋₃ dialkylamino group.
 30. The method ofclaim 27, wherein R¹ is H, a methyl group, an amino group, a nitrogroup, a cyano group, or a hydroxyl group.
 31. The method of claim 27,wherein R¹ is a methylamino group, a dimethylamino group, an ethylaminogroup, a diethylamino group, a hydroxymethyl group, an aminomethylgroup, a methylaminomethyl group, or a dimethylaminomethyl group. 32.The method of claim 27, wherein R³ is F, an amino group, or a hydroxylgroup.
 33. The method of claim 27, wherein R⁵ is an ethyl group.
 34. Themethod of claim 27, wherein R⁶, R⁷ and R⁸ are independently the same ordifferent and are a C₁₋₆ alkyl group, a phenyl group or a —(CH₂)NR⁹group, wherein N is an integer within the range of 1 through 6 and R⁹ isa hydroxyl group, alkoxy group an amino group, an alkylamino group adialkylamino group, a halogen atom, a cyano group or a nitro group. 35.The method of claim 27, wherein R² and R³ form a methylenedioxy group,or a 1,2-ethylenedioxy group.
 36. The method of claim 27, wherein thecompound is 7-trimethylsilyl-10-hydroxy camptothecin or7-tert-butyldimethylsilyl-10-hydroxy camptothecin.
 37. The method ofclaim 27, wherein the compound is 7-tert-butyldimethylsilyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin.
 38. A compound having the formula:

wherein R¹ and R² are independently the same or different and arehydrogen, an alkyl group, an aminoalkyl group, an alkylaminoalkyl group,a haloalkyl group, a hydroxyalkyl group, an alkenyl group, an alkynylgroup, an alkoxyl group, an aryloxy group, a carbamoyloxy group, ahalogen, a hydroxyl group, a nitro group, a cyano group, an azido group,a formyl group, a hydrazino group, —C(O)R^(f), wherein R^(f) is an alkylgroup, a haloalkyl group, an alkoxyl group, an amino group or a hydroxylgroup, an amino group, an alkylamino group, a dialkylamino group,—SR^(c), wherein R^(c) is hydrogen, —C(O)R^(f), an alkyl group, or anaryl group, —OC(O)R^(d) or —OC(O)OR^(d), wherein R^(d) is an alkylgroup; or R¹ and R² together form a group of the formula —O(CH₂)_(n)O—wherein n represents the integer 1 or 2; R³ is H, F, a halogen atom, anitro group, an amino group, a hydroxyl group, or a cyano group; or R²and R³ together form a group of the formula —O(CH₂)_(n)O— wherein nrepresents the integer 1 or 2; R⁴ is H, F, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group, a C₂₋₃alkenyl group, a C₂₋₃ alkynyl group, or a C₁₋₃ alkoxyl group; R⁵ is aC₁₋₁₀ alkyl group, or a propargyl group; and R⁶, R⁷ and R⁸ areindependently a C₁₋₁₀ alkyl group, a C₂₋₁₀ alkenyl group, a C₂₋₁₀alkynyl group, an aryl group or a —(CH₂)NR⁹ group, wherein N is aninteger within the range of 1 through 10 and R⁹ is a hydroxyl group,alkoxy group, an amino group, an alkylamino group, a dialkylamino group,a halogen atom, a cyano group or a nitro group; provided that at leastone of R¹, R², R³ and R⁴ is not H, a halogen, an alkyl group, an aminogroup or a nitro group; and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof.